Al Gore may not have invented the Internet, but his party's political convention was the first in history to embrace it, thanks to an online event planning company
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BY MELINDA LIGOS
I August's National Convention in
Angeles brought few surprises. President Bill Clinton delivered the opening night's keynote speech as expected. Vice President Al Gore accepted the Democratic nomination for president-no surprise there. And following his acceptance speech, thou- sands of red, white, and blue balloons were released from the ceiling of the Staples Center. Pretty standard stuff.
But for the convention's planners and participants, the event was truly revo- lutionary. For the first time in political history, convention organizers part- nered with an online event planning company, Event4l l.com. Democratic National Convention (DNC) planners and delegates alike were able to orga-
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nize events and communicate with one another with the click of a mouse. The result of the unconventional partner- ship? A new form of convention partic- ipation--call it digital democracy.
Like-Minded Strangers
Delegates to a political convention share certain characteristics. They're committed, passionate, and they like to network. Sound like the type of people who would take to a tech tool in order to track down simflar-minded people? That's what DNC planners thought, and their bets were right on target.
,Beverly Barnhart, a delegate from Montana, used the site designed by Event4ll exclusively for DNC dele- gates to send an e-mail to A delegates before the convention asking if any-
one was active in their local chapters of AARP. "We started a dialogue long before the convention even began," she says.
Douglas S. Stone, a delegate from Kansas City, Kansas, posted a pre-con message asking for ideas about energiz- ing Democrats in heavily Republican areas. He got so many responses that he jokes he got "blistered fingerups" trying to answer them. To capitalize on the level of interest he uncovered, he orga- nized a meeting at the convention and invited his new online buddies.
The Planning Tools
Barnhart and Stone were using DNC41 1, a private, password-protected section of the convention's official DEMS2000 Web site. DNC planners
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used it, too, although they had entr6e to different features that the delegates didn't need. Within the planning group, too, there were levels of access. For instance, says Steven Koltai, CEO of Event 41 I.com, a large number of DNC planners could view a budgeting spreadsheet on the site which showed how much the organization was spending on various functions, but only certain DNC executives were actually able to edit the figures. Delegates had no access to the spreadsheet.
Convention organizers, delegation chairpersons, and state chairs had access to an Event Planner tool, which allowed users to create and send out e-mail invita- tions to various events associated with the convention and receive electronic RSVPS. A Vendor Tracker allowed planners and chairpersons to store contact information
other events-staying in communication with one another all the while-wasn't the brainstorm of some politico. The idea was actually dreamed up by Koltai, who in 1996 founded the online event plan- ning company Event 41 1, based in Marina Del Rey, California.
Koltai was looking to gain more expo- sure for his company, which in four years, had morphed from a small start-up that helped individuals plan weddings and bar mitzvabs online to a much more sophisticated online event planner for corporations that offers more than three dozen planning tools. About a year and a half ago, Koltai says, he approached offi- cials from both major political parties about donating his company's services,
gratis (the s e r v i c e
interests, and even invite them to special events to discuss those interests.
"At previous conventions, delegates had no good way to find and meet with people who shared their interests or agendas," Koltai says. "Tbe only way people found each other was to put a notice about a meeting on the corkboard of seventy-five hotel lobbies. That wasn't very effective."
But this year was different. Delegates like Beverly Barnhart and Douglas Stone used the system to locate potential allies by doing a database search and sending out e-mails to delegates who might be interested in their political agendas. Other delegates posted messages on topics ranging from gay and lesbian issues to nuclear waste. One particularly con-
cemed delegate wrote to wam others that if George W. Bush were to be elected, nuclear waste would be stored in Nevada (or so she said). The e-mail discus- sions continued throughout the convention; more than 80 kiosks offering access to the site were located in the Staples Center and in various hotels.
Of course, not all discussions were political in nature. One del-
egate canvassed the online crowd on their birth dates (the 18-year-old wanted to see if he was indeed the youngest delegate in attendance). Others posted messages ask- ing what people were wearing to the con- vention. (Not surprisingly, many opted to dress in red, white, and blue.)
The Net Result
The online conversations between dele- gates were still continuing many weeks later. In fact, Koltai is working with the DNC to move the DNC411 community to the Democrats' permanent site so that the dialogue can go on indefinitely. And Event4il is sending the online postings to the National Archives for historical reference.
Indeed, the partnership was a history- maker that may forever change the way people plan-and communicate at- political conventions.
O'Connor, for one, says that the DNC plans to have an online component at future conventions. His reason is an endorsement for "wired" electioneering: "How can we go backward after such a success?"
for each event vendor and view a break- down of invoices and balances due.
Shared-access parts of the site included a Travel Manager tool that let top DNC staffers see where other staff members were staying; delegates were only able to view their own travel arrangements. And a Local Services section, available to 0 users of the Web site, allowed them to access a listing of DNC-approved ven- dors for every need, ranging from limo drivers to florists. While DNC planners didn't have a need for this feature (they were limited to using certain DNC- approved vendors), "delegates used this section quite a bif' to plan ad hoc events while on site, says Rod O'Connor, chief operating officer of the DNC Committee.
Finally, a To Do List let all participants establish a list of tasks and assign tasks to others. For instance, Koltai says, state chairpersons who wanted a delegate to organize a breakfast meeting could, with a few clicks, assign him or her to do so.
How It All Started
The notion that the more than 30,000 people involved with the Democratic National Convention could use the same online tool to plan sessions, parties, and
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would nor- mally cost
about $500,000) to their respective pres- idential conventions. The Republicans turned him down, but the Democrats bit. "I told [members of the DNC Committee] that the role of the Internet at their convention would be seen in ret- rospect to be as important as television was in the 1960 campaign," Koltai says.
"They very much liked that idea."
Of course, getting thousands of users oriented to the site wasn't easy. "Getting the word out was our biggest challenge," says O'Connor. In July, each of the near- ly 5,000 delegates received a letter intro- ducing DNC41 I.com and assigning them
a user name and password.
Beyond the Bulletin Board
While the planning tools undoubtedly were an important part of the DNC411 site, the most noteworthy aspect for del- egates was the Communication Center, which allowed them to "chat" with one another before, during, and after the con- vention. Within the center, delegates and planners alike were able to search the site's databank for delegates with similar
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