Open Thread - A New RonPaul2008.com - What would you like to see?

As one of 2 organizers in Oregon for Ron Paul, I have to say I think Meetup sucks.
In the last day I haven't even been able to get into my own page and modify it most of the time. To me this is mission critical, and if that sight went down we could lose our entire momentum, which makes it more important than the people at meetup either think it's worth or are capable of.
My first clue to them being more than a little self centered was that they only accepted credit cards, and any credit card transaction would AUTOMATICALLY be extended. In other words, we won't deal with you unless you give us the keys to your bank account, at which point I IMMEDIATELY call BS. I forced my way through by paying 18$ extra to have the payment overnighted, and it took them 2-3 days to "process" a us postal money order and get the software to work. At the very least I think somebody should back up their site, because it doesn't look like they know how.
And one quote from their page now "We're sorry", I couldn't agree more.

Ron Paul talks about inflation being a hidden tax. I suspect most people don't really understand what that means. All they know is that each day it's harder and harder to make ends meet.

This article explains why. Notice that Paul Volker is the one who suggest inflation is tax on the poor and the middle class.

When Ron Paul says that government is the problem, he's right. But he's not yet connecting with his audience in New Hampshire because we the people are the ones who want something for nothing. You'll notice that nearly every question from the audience carries the implicit or explicit assumption that it's government that needs to solve a problem. Every question is "What would you do." It's not "What can I do."

Conversation with Ron Paul:

Part 1:     http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/13212855/index.html

Part 2:      http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/13212913/index.html

Taxation without representation - Inflation is a hidden tax:


Gaming the stats: Where is U.S. inflation hiding?

Fri May 25, 2007 1:43PM EDT

By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. inflation appears to be ebbing as the economy slows, but the trend may have more to do with systematic undercounting than newfound purchasing power.

The gap between policy-makers' price barometers and the reality experienced by consumers is nothing new. Americans are often bemused by headlines saying inflation is under control even as their cost of living seems to keep climbing.

Yet this divergence has implications beyond puzzled news readers. Monetary officials know that misjudging inflation could result in an acceleration of price increases that might prove difficult to rein in.

This is why the Federal Reserve continues to express greater concern over a pick up in inflation than an economic downturn, even as the markets forecast just the opposite.

Barry Ritholtz, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Research & Analytics, says an obsession with measures that exclude such basics as food and energy has led to a misguided assessment of price pressures.

"Focusing on core inflation is an absurd exercise," said Ritholtz. The growing disconnect between overall inflation and the core measure reflect just how questionable some of these readjustments have been, he added.

While core numbers can be of some use in smoothing out month-to-month fluctuations, they make less sense on a yearly basis. "If it's happening from one year to the next it's a trend, not a blip."

CHERRY-PICKING

Yet this is exactly the figure the Fed has implicitly adopted as its goalpost for policy, putting the U.S. central bank at odds with some of its major overseas counterparts.

The history of this shift can be traced back to the oil crises of the mid-1970s. Then Fed Chairman Arthur Burns asked economists at the central bank to strip out energy from the CPI to get a clearer picture of underlying price trends.

Now, though, some of the practice's biggest critics contend that what began as an innocent enough exercise in minimizing distortions has evolved into the gradual removal of politically unpalatable rises in costs.

"The reason the government changed the way they calculate inflation is because they didn't want the public to know how bad inflation really is," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital.

THE CRUELEST TAX

Paul Volcker, the former Fed chairman widely credited for putting the clamp on the runaway inflation of the 1970s, once referred to rising prices as "a cruel and maybe the cruelest tax, because it hits in an unexpected way, in an unplanned way, and it hits the people on a fixed income hardest."

"And there's quite a lot of evidence, contrary to some earlier thinking, that it hits poorer people more than richer people," he went on.

In this context, inflation pressures that go unaccounted for might help explain an increasing squeeze on the American middle-class, which many analysts feel is too deeply in debt to cope with a possible economic downturn.

John Williams, a private consulting economist who got so tired of looking at the official figures that he started compiling a set of his own. Using the same methods the government employed in 1980 Williams estimates that inflation is actually running around 10 percent per year.

That's a far cry from inflation readings reported by the government, which are currently hovering between 2 percent and 3 percent.

If Williams is right, it would mean the dwindling number of Americans who still manage to sock some cash away in a savings account at the end of the month are actually losing money in real terms.

By shifting its attention away from a constant basket of goods to one that allows for the substitution toward cheaper items, officials at the Fed effectively redefined inflation.

"Now you're looking at a cost of living for a declining standard of living," said Williams. "But people want to be able to maintain a standard of living."

Even if one does take the official statistics at face value, global forces like rising commodity and energy prices are likely to keep a floor under prices, say analysts.

That, in turn, might make the concept of core inflation as a guide to monetary policy look increasingly irrelevant. It would also complicate the Fed's task of managing consumer expectations about inflation, considered key in the fight against accelerating price gains.

"With globalization so dominant, and Chinese and Asian appetites for oil, soybeans, and iron ore amongst other commodities so voracious, it's hard to envision an extended period of lower headline U.S. increases," PIMCO Managing Director Bill Gross told clients in his latest outlook.

"This may bias more central banks to begin considering headline numbers in their policy decisions, like Japan and the European Central Bank do already."

Until then, Americans will remain befuddled by inflation news that flies in the face of their own experience.

Copyright 1999 - 2006 Le Metropole Cafe. All rights reserved.

FreeOregon

In the Part 1 of Ron's conversation at http://www.thebostonchann... I sensed Ron failed to carry the audience when asked about universal healthcare.

I would suggest that we have universal healthcare now. It is government subsidized, expensive, bureaucratic, and does not deliver quality care to everyone. Emergency rooms carry the burden of care for the poor. The primary benficiaries of government subsidies are the insurance companies, not the people. Look at the source of campaign contributions and you will see who actually benefits from the present system.

The slogan "universal healthcare" really means tinkering with a damaged health delivery system by increasing the control of government instead of getting rid of government subsidies and regulations which are the source of the problems.

There is no way to know exactly how a free market will deliver quality care to everyone because we don't have a free market now.

What we do know is that the present, government controlled system is an abomination, and that more government is not the answer.

The government's hand is neither free nor invisible. Even with the best of intentions the results are unsatisfactory and unfair.

FreeOregon

In Oregon, I know many women are looking for change and like Ron Paul, but are turned away by what seems to me like an anti-woman approach to politics.

I'm glad to learn that he does not support any federal legislation around abortion, or a woman's right to decide if and when she will become a mother. I also have heard that he is against a woman's right to choose, which I personally find very offensive.

No one is "pro-abortion". Abortion is an ugly thing, especially for a woman who is faced with having to decide to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. But politicians cannot abolish abortion any more than they can abolish human nature and our compulsion to mate. No one can force a woman to bring a child into the world, unless she is ready, willing and able to provide the love and protection all children, even the unborn, need an deserve. It's simply anti-woman to think about forcing women into back allies and unsafe means for ending pregnancies, like many women in the 50's were forced into. Does Ron Paul really want to see this? That's hard to believe. I wonder if he has really thought about what it means to voters, namely women voters, to be pegged as anti-choice. I hope Ron Paul will reconsider his position on parenthood and choice, because I would like to support his candidacy.

Susan Detlefsen
MotherInterrupted cable TV producer, Oregon

It would be simply excellent if there were a Forum dedicated to the Ron Paul Campaign.

Supporters would have a place to gather to discuss ideas, get the issues perfectly straight and in order of importance, compare RP to the other candidates and invite newbies to RP to get the scoop from many and varied angles.

As it is, we have to register in and post on other political forums where there is no moderator help against spamming and other inane interruptions, slurs and disinformation attacks.

It would be much easier to invite people to a forum where they can get educated on the issues and the plans to spread the word instead of links that lead to links that lead to links, where it's very easy to lose the train of thought.

We could exchange ideas for signs, voter registration drives, grassroots video production, physical gatherings, rallies, etc.

My experiences participating in forums about my other interests have all been good ones and there generally develops a sense of family and unity where many ideas have grown to very positive actions.

Bosso

I've been thinking of suggesting this two the campaign for awhile, but haven't had the contact info on who to send the suggestion to. --BTW, the website should have publicly available contact info for the people in charge of specific aspects of the campain.

My two suggestions involve using slashdot.org. If anybody here doesnt know about slashdot. It is a hugely popular website. Definitely one of the main early innovators behind blogs and forums. It has a very active community, the majority working or interested in the tech industry. IMHO, most also have libertarian leanings. This is a huge potential base just sitting there.

1. This question you have posed here is a perfect idea for an article on slashdot's "Ask Slashdot" Something along the lines of, "Ron Paul is running for President. What is the best way for a presidential candidate to take full advantage of the Internet?"
--Posing this question is SURE to get plenty of good suggestions. It also will show that Ron Paul and his campaign staff are open to new ideas from "outsiders" and willing to tap a free resource. The number of suggestions you get there will definitely outshine suggestions from paid-advisors. Or even here. And it is FREE.
For examples of "Ask Slashdot"articles: http://ask.slashdot.org/

2. There is an awesome opportunity for Ron Paul to do a slashdot Interview!
slashdot offers the opportunty for people/groups to offer themselves up for an interview. Readers post questions, other readers "rate" questions. The top-rated questions get sent to the interviewee (Ron Paul).
I don't think any other candidate has offered themselves up this way. and like i said slashdot has a HUGE audience.
--This will once again show that Ron is not the normal canididate and is willing to put himself up there to answer any question.
For examples of "Slashdot Interviews" http://interviews.slashdo...

I think both of these "Articles" would be readily accepted by slashdot and would be an excellent way for Ron to further help increase his exposure.

Please anybody with contacts in the campaign, please make sure they read this. Let's not let another candidate beat him to it.

I know Dr. Paul has made himself clear on this issue in the past. The articles are up for anyone to read. Is the campaign afraid of this issue for the primaries?
Shouldn't Dr. Paul be upfront about all of his platform?

I think the War on Drugs is one of the biggest differentiators for Dr. Paul. There is a ton of support for his position. I realize that there is also heavy opposition, but isn't that what we already face? I've seen one MySpace site that focuses entirely on the drug war to plug Dr. Paul, and it's garnered over 2000 friends in about a week.

I think we have to get non-voters off the couch to win this one, and the War on Drugs is something that could do that.

Sam Marsh
Musician
http://www.myspace.com/sc...

Google now allows the ability to create a custom search engine. I created one that searches Ron Paul's house website as well as the campaign website.

http://www.google.com/coo...

This could be very beneficial when people asks where Dr Paul stands on certain issues.

Just type in what concerns you, and all of Ron Paul's speeches, articles, and sponsored/cosponsored bills will be searched. The campaign could create a custom profile or they could embedded the search box in their website.

Just to add another voice to the call for change... Given the kind of campaign this has to be (a groundswell, facilitated by Paul's strong online support), his site just has to look more serious and more professional than it does. While content is key, I don't think we can afford to ignore the impact of looks--not when we're talking about a pretty techie base.

Thrift is great, but money should be spent getting his site up to speed. More info, section for volunteering, connections to local support networks, campaign merchandise/materials available, and a design that pulls him into the ranks of the so-called serious candidates. It needn't break the bank, but a professional could get it done--and quick. IMHO, it needs to be up by the Reagan debate on May 3.

It's time for President Paul
www.ronpaulhq.com

http://www.fairtax.org/

- They have a grassroots area, that includes action steps, materials, etc
- They have a take action area

What do you think?

Vote for FREEDOM!
www.ronpaul2008.com

Fellow Constitutionalists!

I submitted this as a story but it hasn't reached the home page yet so I'm putting it into some of these stories' comments until it goes up! Go to www.vote.com and vote for Ron Paul!! He is up there but only has 3% of the vote!!

www.vote.com

----------
Two things needed in the short term to save our Country:
1.) Ron Paul becoming President in 2008
2.) The www.FairTax.org bill (H.R.25) becoming law

Go spread a Ron Paul grassfire!! www.FireSociety.com

Ron def. needs an RSS/XML feed. Also, a weekly podcast with updates on his schedule could be a nice touch. It doesn't have to be him, but that wouldn't hurt. Anything that can bring Ron into the homes of those who don't know him. Imagine getting a weekly update from Ron. They would know this man cares about them!

As for analytics, I am not sure if Ron's team is tracking the hits at www.ronpaul2008.com. However, there is an awesome FREE service offered by Google called Analytics. It can track almost anything you want, and it's free! Get this over to the web dev. team asap ;) http://www.google.com/ana... - I love the GEO tracking feature.

Here is the product tour: http://www.google.com/ana...

Vote for FREEDOM!
www.ronpaul2008.com

I'm with Hillbillybruce, He said" *must* be more communicative, point your supporters in the right direction, and get some sort of regional (or statewide) co-ordination in place. People like myself, who are anxious to help, could be excellent resources and just need to be organized to be effective."

He hit the nail right on the head, a lot of good campaigning is being lost due to no organization at the grass roots level. I would like to see official state contacts and even County contacts for Ron Paul's campaign.

Sense Ron Paul is not getting the media attention, He must depend on the grass roots level at this time, Put getting organized as a priority and set back and see how quickly his name will spread like wild fire. America is hungry for a change in Washington, lets get it rolling!

I would also like to see him use the slogan, "taking America Back" I think that says it all!

Thanks all

Taking America Back

The debt clock is a great idea. Perhaps right under it some bullet points about Dr. Paul's voting record as it relates to the debt, some quotes from him on the debt and federal spending, or a link to material explaining his positions.
Would it be improper to have a link to Dr. Paul's Texas Straight Talk archive? Anyone who wants to know what makes Ron Paul tick can find plenty of material there: Ten years worth of consistent stands for liberty, economic freedom and limited government. I always start my week with a visit to www.house.gov/paul to read the latest column, and when I tell people about Dr. Paul I always direct them there first. I'm assuming this site is at least partly paid for with tax money, so maybe linking to it from RP2008 would be a no-no.
My degree is in print journalism and I'm continually amazed at the cluttered crap I see on the web. In that respect, RP2008 is quite good. Definitely keep it simple. Content, content, content!
When it comes to issues, the most important thing is to be positive. Unfortunately, nowadays when a voter asks, "What is your position on problem X?" what he really means is, "How is my daddy, the federal government, going to fix problem X?" If a typical voter were to ask me questions right now about three "important" domestic issues, my answers probably would be:
1) That's none of the federal government's business.
2) That's none of the federal government's business.
3) That's none of the federal government's business.
Even with the Constitution on our side, negativity like that won't sell, because people will just assume a lack of "compassion" and close their ears. The challenge is to explain how liberty and adherence to the Constitution offer infinitely more hope than the central planning touted by demagogues, Democrat and Republican alike. On the few occasions I've seen Dr. Paul on TV he's done a great job at this. I hope the site will get the message out that the founders have given us an excellent plan and we'll all be better off if voters start requiring Congress and the president to follow it.

It never fails to astound me to see the National debt clock spinning wildly, as if out of control, as it tallies the growing debt, especially the feature that counts the amount of accumulated debt from the instant you log on until you log off.

I think it should be included on any site that has to do with Federal Politics.

Link:

http://www.babylontoday.c...

Dr. Paul's campaign should DEFINITELY open a Google AdWords account and bid on keywords such as "President 2008," and other general keywords, as well as other candidate's names, like John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, etc.

Do some Google searches and look at who shows up!!

I told all of my friends about Ron Paul at work, and directed them to your site. The response I received, invariably, was that the site did not contain a lot of specific information about Ron Paul's stance on current issues. They want to know how he feels about Israel, about Iran, North Korea, etc. They want to know specifically what his plan is for entitlement programs. Ron has said he is against entitlement programs, but that you also cannot realistically just take them away all at once. So what are his plans? His section on the website about illegal immigration is the best, as it has a clear, easy to understand 6 point program listed out. More detail could go into each of these points, but it's a great start. All of my friends who do not know much about Ron Paul would like to see similar lists for other issues... as well as the inclusion of several issues that are not there (abortion, gay marriage, etc.).

Since I already know I am voting for Ron, what I would like to see are some "official" campaign materials that I can start using, linked to from his site. For instance, several "grass roots" people have created and spread 8x10 posters (in .pdf and .jpg format) that you can print and post on bulletin boards... or enlarge and make a sign for your yard. I would prefer to print out such materials only if I know they are "officially" from Dr. Paul's campaign. Plus, if they were "official", I would hope they would look more professional that what is currently out there. Same goes for bumper stickers, hats, shirts, etc.

***This is a chance to make your voice heard, for I have reason to believe that Dr. Paul will be made aware of the opinions expressed here and take action! Michael Nystrom***Good. That's nice. Please tell Ron Paul not to get side-tracked by a Hostile Interviewer on irrelevant points of Confederate History. Even if I AGREE, it was 150 years ago! Sheesh, nobody cares! Also, please tell Ron Paul to FOCUS HIS MESSAGE. If he wants to get into the "Global Warming" schtick, how about mentioning the fact that the US Federal Government is the biggest Polluter on Earth?! OOPS, he FORGOT to mention that minor point? I'm sorry, but Ron Paul needs Debate Training, and he needs it BADLY. Tell him so. Give me the go-ahead, and I'll try to get the most successful Christian Anarchist in the history of Collegiate Debate (my own LU Debate Coach) to personally prep Ron Paul for pennies on the dollar. Just say the word. Ron Paul needs Debate Prep... and he needs it NOW. The Nancy Reagan Debate is coming up real soon. Best, RONPAULCALVINIST

In addition to the great suggestions already submitted, I'd like to add a couple of fairly simple, but important, things that are needed:

1: Official Campaign Materials:
Website banners, PDF posters, PDF handouts/flyers, talking points for websites/blogging, even "Ron Paul 2008" icons (for MySpace profiles, etc...)

People have been building their own items for the past month, because there isn't anything official available. And while that is probably better than nothing, it would be much better to at least offer "official" materials, to make sure that the exact message you want to get out is properly conveyed, and provides the sort of consistent "look and feel" that voters have come to expect of serious candidates these days.

2: Regional/State Contacts and Meetings:
Hopefully, this addition is already being planned. Most importantly, it needs to be easily accessible on the web site. I know that some "unofficial MeetUps" and "Yahoo! Groups" have been formed, (I've signed up, of course), but it would be much better to morph these into some sort of Official Campaign-sponsored contacts and events. While we don't want to discourage people from taking their own initiative in doing what they are already doing to support Ron Paul, the current mish-mash we have now isn't the best and only solution. People want to see "official" information too.

By the way, I would like to say to the current webmaster(s) that I approve of the "KISS" (Keeping It Sweet & Simple) design approach that they've done so far. Even though it is necessary to "polish things up" a little to live up to the expectations of the average voter who would be surfing potential candidates' sites, I hope you continue to keep things clear and very functional. I went out to get a peek at what all the other candidates were doing as I wrote this, and was highly amused to see that Hillary Clinton's official website was so over-stylized and badly coded, that some pages didn't properly display and looked HORRIBLE (on my Mozilla Firefox browser, at least)!

-------------

Those are the only new suggestions I have, but I'd also like to echo voteronpaul08's comment about the lack of responsiveness we are getting from the Ron Paul 2008 campaign...

I've donated twice so far, once right after the PEC was formed with a check and letter sent by snail-mail, and once on the web site. (By the way, kudos to whoever set up the online donations page by offering regular ongoing "billing" with credit cards. That was a great idea!) I also signed up as a supporter, but have yet to hear anything at all. I understand that the campaign is just getting started, but the need to communicate with Dr. Paul's supporters is VITAL, and I don't understand how they could make such a simple mis-step so early on. (Or is it just me?)

Come on all you folks at campaign HQ! I know it must be hard work organizing everything; but you *must* be more communicative, point your supporters in the right direction, and get some sort of regional (or statewide) co-ordination in place. People like myself, who are anxious to help, could be excellent resources and just need to be organized to be effective. While I'm fairly sure that you are "working on it" - it really needed to be done a month ago, or at least by the time Dr. Paul made his official announcement.

I know these things are easier said than done, but nobody said running for president would be easy...

On April 5th, 2007 kosmic says:
As a designer I can tell you the look and feel of your front page is the most important.
1 simple, loads fast and icon or picture based. Menu's to take you to the page of interest. This alone will save the user time, keep the pages organized and allow url saves that are of interest to the user.
Icons are probably good, but you should also make sure you have text descriptions of links for blind users. I'm blind myself, and I find that It's difficult to use web sites with no text descriptions for links. Also, I don't know if it is still like this, but Target's web site use to have links that could only be accessed by using a mouse. Sites like that are unusable for blind people like me that use screen readers.

Not that this has much to do with the webpage look, but this could go on the page.

What about a place on the site where you can donate your "stuff" that you might otherwise be able to sell on e-bay. Then, a "Ron Paul store" on e-bay could sell all of the stuff and you can get a receipt for the cost of your donation.

A lot of people might not have a lot of money but they'd be willing to send off some items around the house that they don't use anymore.

Advertise the store on his page and people can bid on items and buy them. Both feeling good about their purchase because it helps with the campaign.

Just a thought.

www.pledgebank.com/LTEfor...

Wow, this post has some buzz ;)

Yes, I agree with the posts, we need to make sure that Ron doesn't overspend. The great news is that so many people want this guy to succeed that they are willing to do it for free. It probably would be cheaper for Ron to fly out some of the best programmers to Ron’s headquarters and nail out a dynamite site.

Anyhow, as I have posted before, we need more communication and goals. I would like to know what Ron's donation totals are and how many people he would like to see donate. Let's be bold. Let's shoot for 100,000 $100 donations! Let's let everyone know what our goals are. Placing a module such as ChipIN ( http://www.chipin.com ) - would help us to know where we are. I understand that this can also be a bad thing, since people can see if we didn't pull in strong numbers. But maybe smal goals to start and then we can shoot for larger goals. Also, if doesn't have to be just cash. There can be a goal for metups, etc.

I learned along time ago, if you want to be successful, do what successful people do. I think Obama’s team has designed a flawless website. I signed up to become a “member” of the site to see what it looks like once you log in. Once you login it shows what events are near you, and a bunch of other items that make you feel like you’re in it with him. I would love those features on rp2008.com. For instance. I don’t know how to find other RP supporters in my area; can you imagine the viral recruiting if we all worked out of a single meetup location!.

On a side note I would like to see some open dialogue between Ron and us. It would be awesome if we could send in video-blog and have Ron responded to a few each week or two. I am sure that would be awesome! The media would have to pick up on that. That would show others that Ron is with the people and communicates with the people!

Vote for FREEDOM!
www.ronpaul2008.com

As a designer I can tell you the look and feel of your front page is the most important.

1 simple, loads fast and icon or picture based. Menu's to take you to the page of interest. This alone will save the user time, keep the pages organized and allow url saves that are of interest to the user.

2. blogs are great for allowing comments but not much else. A seperate comment page with links to different topics would be better.

3. Seperate page for high bandwidth and dialup users. Dial up users want plain text so they can get the info without tripping over large files or graphics. High bandwidth users are willing to display the graphics but only if they have control over the page and how it loads. I don't like it when videos or audio files start by themselves.

5 News readers are great and that goes without saying. There are some newer features being used to help users collect, forward and save important info from their favorite pages. Having these features available for download on the pages using them saves the user a lot of time.

6 My last point is also new to the internet. I don't know that you will have the time or expert to do it, but I call it time sharing for web design. This is where several different creative people are given access to the server files via email update programs so that several areas of interest can be updated at the same time by different authors to the site. Leaving the general upkeep and design to a smaller group of trusted authors. This also allows delegation of tasks over a larger group of people.

Hope you find this helpfull.
Bob

Please include some area with a "Daily Call to Action" for how common every day folks can help Ron Paul.

- like, today, everyone email oprah - here is the link bam.
- everyone email 20/20 and the View
- everyone call The Daily Show

People get riled up when they see someone like Ron Paul, and they need an outlet besides giving money. A centralized source of information would be great, right now we're scattered all across Yahoo, this website, myspace, youtube.

There should be position papers explaining the why for all the "controversial" positions (e.g. not that X is good, but that using the federal leviathan to control X is bad). This could include videos with 30 second to 2 minute "Today's minute with Ron Paul" on you-tube. Embedding them might look better, but there is too much glitz that doesn't work on all browsers so don't go to far. Paul is principle and substance, and his website should reflect it. Not megabytes of multimedia signifying nothing.

A campaign (b)log is already there in a form.

If the Paul site maintainers can't get all the info, they could put up a wiki for paying contributors who register (to filter trolls), and we could insert the links and content and format it.

1) I second using Drupal or a similar framework. I fear Dr. Paul will end up throwing away money on a development team when most of the work could be done for free.

2) Open forums. http://kucinich.us/ has a forum setup; however, they have far too many topic divisions. State divisions would be a good idea though.

3) Active participation on forum topics and responses from campaign staff. Also, when time permits, from Dr. Paul himself.

4) Fully utilize video sites like Google Video and YouTube. Instead of linking to sites like: http://www.youtube.com/pr..., the videos should be embedded on the main site in a video section.

5) As mentioned above, we live in a world of fast food information. Videos of Dr. Paul stating his position on individual issues would be a great idea when coupled with traditional text.

6) While I hate the term, a "Web 2.0" style would be a good thing.

7) Daily updates while on the campaign trail would be a must. Moby.com journal style.

8) A one stop shop for all Ron Paul related news which would be user generated digg style.

#RonPaul @ irc.freenode.net

Hi Michael.

I spoke to the campaign folks last week here in Phoenix. It sounds as if the website project is underway. The current website is somewhat of an interim site as far as current content and capability.

My impression is that Dr Paul is addament about

a) finding out how much real support is already out there by focusing on a small sampling of states.
b)allowing the grass roots to perculate. Keep in mind almost everything that exists from the meager press coverage to radio talk show interviews to fund raisers are things that have been organized at the grass roots level and have cost the campaign little in terms of dollars... a very real consideration.
c) Although they did not say it, I believe they are still being thifty ... too thrifty? maybe but maybe not. Campaigns can quickly become wasteful beurocracies. Avoiding that can be a competetive advantage. Obviously forgoeing neccessary web infrastructure would be a huge mistake as well.

Having said that, here is my input.

1. IMHO, A traditional topdown micro managed campaign will be certain death. Paul simply will not have the funds to build the traditional campaign beurocracy... besides they suck.

2. A basic comminications infrastructure is important of course, but the focus should be on releasing the creative energy and enthusiasm of the grass roots and accomodating open source.

Random ideas off the top of my head:
- Some discussion facility or forum including the ability for users to create private forums and/or ad-hoc groups regardless of state.
- Of course broadcasting of campaign info perhaps in a banner area as well as via email.
- Some sort of wiki ish concept should be employed in terms of openness KISS should apply.
- Maybe even the incorporation of a digg type ranking system for "ideas" or suggestions from the grass roots to help float new ideas?
- Set up a web cam in a chat room or forum and have Dr. Paul or staff jump on unannounced from time to time to say hello. Who knows what that could turn into.

I think Ross Perot type videos should be shot with Dr. Paul clearly explaining his positions on key issues. Although he is getting much better at formulating 30 second sound bites, some of his issues, like the role of the FED, require full length explaination. The internet provides the ability to let Paul shine in this area even if we cannot come up with the millions to buy a half hour on the major networks like Perot did.

http://ronpaul.rescue-us....

I'm reposting
voteronpaul08's comment from a previous thread, found here: http://dailypaul.com/node...

#11. UPDATE RONPAUL2008.COM!!!!
On April 2nd, 2007 voteronpaul08 says:

Everytime I go to www.ronpaul2008.com I cringe! We need a site that emulates Obama's. There is no communication. I signed up to be a supporter, NO RESPONSE!!! (this was over 3 weeks ago!). There is no structure based on events and meetings. Everyone is out there doing their own thing. We should be lead by our leader at a single site, or at least be able to post events so that we can all be on the same page.

Obviously adding a "my" feature would add many thousands of hits. With people setting up blogs and being able to track donation fundraising would stir people to get out the message.

I would like to see this site become much more than a web 1.0 document. We DO NOT stand a chance without moving this site into the 21st century. We are not getting media attention. We need to embrace web 2.0, There has to be a much better forum of live communcation. Relying on myspace is so OLD. SPEND the money on a dominate web presence. The internet is our only source to get the message out, we need to dominate in this area.

My YouTube videos ( http://www.youtube.com/Vo... ) have gotten THOUSANDS of hits. Many many people that have not known you Dr. Paul has stated to me via email that know that they have heard you they support you. Build a strong site! Many people my age look at the site and judge how serious a canadiate is in this race. I hope you raised the money to get an updated page. Imagine the hits you would get if you has a community of people blogging everyday and posting events on a single source site, instead of the 1,000+ blogs out their!

Hey, if you did't raise the money to build a dynamic site. Post that you need XXX to build the site, people will donate if they know what it will do!!!

PS: What is web 2.0, view: http://youtube.com/watch?...

PPS: Sory for any typos, dont have time to review and edit!