Obama Turns to Community for Health Care Ad

Last Updated (Thursday, 19 November 2009 11:03) Written by Lyndsey Jackson

The Organizing for America (OFA) campaign supporting the Obama election and subsequent administration has been exciting and inspirational to watch. On one hand it is about the technology itself and the applications and functionality provided (like the MyBO site), but the really exciting element has been how people have been trusted, encouraged and supported to use the technology.

I have had dealings with Government departments where they won't give their own staff access to basic technology functionality. Yet the OFA campaign has empowered the community to participate and produce content; the effect is resonating through Government business and policy, and for the benefit of Australian's there are strong signs there is a scramble from a number of fronts to catch up.

I am on the OFA mailing list, and they get so many things right. A great example fell into my inbox today, I received their email about the winning video for their America Health Reform Video Challenge. The Challenge had nearly 1,000 submissions, 20 finalists, and more than 3 million views.

In October the campaign called for people to phone Congress people for a whole day, they were aiming for 100 000, then 200 000 callers and finally 315,023 calls were received. From Australia looking in American's clearly have strong opinions that seem unshakable, and health care (and gun laws!) is one of them. To see the level of community momentum the Campaign generates is not only a source of inspiration and 'yes we can', it is changing the political and community landscape - for the better.