http://www.smallbrain.net Data-driven social media strategy for progressive campaigns Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:45:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Target got caught recruiting folks to evangelize it on Facebook, but asked them to not disclose that they were getting prizes, CDs, etc. for their work. Bad call. "Your Mission: try not to let on in the Facebook group that you are a Rounder," the newsletter read. "We love your enthusiasm ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/12/03/seriously-dont-sockpuppet-on-facebook-or-anywhere-else/ Politics (particularly political technology) has always been a few years behind commerce... slow to adopt TV, Direct Mail, the web. Thankfully, at least online, tactics and strategies are jumping the divide faster than usual. Honestly, I thought it wouldn't have taken this long for people to start clicking on rival ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/11/21/the-next-google-bomb-political-click-fraud/ David All reports in on Slatecard's progress. The republican version of ActBlue has raised almost $75k. Not too shabby... Considering the high profile of the folks involved not surprising that it would raise some money, but I had expected a bit more. Interestingly (to me), their average gift is $163.86. ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/11/20/republican-version-of-actblue-snags-75k-in-41-days/ While I am still bullish on the Facebook ads in general, I think the platform needs some work. Fred Wilson points out some weird stats on his post friday and the test ads we put up last week aren't performing well yet. But I still think they can make sense. ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/11/19/facebook-ads-still-a-little-shaky/ Guilty. I've sent them. I just thought it was funny that I got two this week - an email from Bill Richardson's campaign yesterday and a blog post from Tom Harkin's campaign today. Ok, there's nothing wrong with the tactic. Nothing at all. The real reason for this post ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/11/16/ahhhh-the-formuliac-birthday-note-from-the-candidates-spouse/ Holy crap. Google may have solved the “unique visitor problem” with a Firefox extension that synchronizes your cookies across different machines. This is wild. When we look at “Unique Visitor” in any modern cookie-based analytics package those of us who use multiple computers – a fair number – look like ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/11/16/google-browser-sync-will-make-web-analytics-easier-eventually/ So, I have been testing Facebook Social Ads. I have to say that I LOVE the targeting platform. You can do some really interesting breakdowns of the facebook universe like Patrick Ruffini did here and get your ads really well targeted based on gender, networks, keywords, employer, age, relationship status ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/11/16/facebook-social-ads/ We've been working pretty much exclusively with Development Seed, Inc. on some killer projects for the ENOUGH project, The United Nations Millennium Campaign and some other stuff. You can also read the occasional blog from me (steve) on their site here, but you should check out the other stuff they've ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/07/10/sorry-for-the-lack-of-posting/ Smallbrain Solutions, Inc. isn't one of those firms that says they can do anything - then tries to figure it out after you sign the check. Nope, we prefer to stay focused on a few things and do those really well. We're always learning new things, but we're honest about ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/06/16/services/ Smallbrain Solutions, Inc. was founded in Minneapolis, MN by Steve Olson in 2000 to provide online strategy to progressive political campaigns and organizations. After serving as a field organizer (and default tech-guy) for two Federal campaigns during the 2000 cycle, he felt it was time to use his web development ... http://www.smallbrain.net/2007/06/16/about-us/