Blue State Digital

Tony Blair launches new Faith Foundation website

Gregor Poynton — 2009-11-02T20:05:47+00:00

Shortly after Tony Blair stepped down as British Prime Minister, he created the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to emphasize the positive role that faith can play in a globalised world. To continue this important work, the Foundation asked Blue State Digital to help it build an online movement.

Our fruitful collaboration went live a few weeks ago. The site, tonyblairfaithfoundation.org, teaches visitors about the Foundation’s work, showcases giving opportunities for supporters, and encourages people to get involved.

The Foundation has two core objectives:

An education programme that seeks to improve understanding between people of different faiths. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation will conduct courses on faith and globalisation at Yale University in the U.S., Durham University in the U.K., and the National University of Singapore. The Foundation will also host activities at other schools around the world.
A multi-faith social action programme that mobilises people of faith to work in tandem to achieve the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals.

The new website also showcases the work of the Faiths Act Fellows, 30 people of faith in Canada, the U.S., and Britain who are devoted to bringing the world together in the fight against malaria.

The launch of tonyblairfaithfoundation.org marks the start of a new programme to increase the Foundation’s presence and grow its support. BSD’s London team looks forward to continuing to assist in that work.

Three weeks left: Searching for global health solutions

Eric Bull — 2009-10-30T16:00:01+00:00

Got a big idea how the U.S. can improve health all over the globe? If you do, you might win $1,000 and even get your idea published — but you’ll want to hurry. All entries have to be in by November 20.

As part of its partnership with BSD to engage the public around global health, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Smart Global Health Commission has launched a new contest. They’re asking everyone for the best answer to this question:

What is the most important thing the U.S. can do to improve global health over the next 15 years?

The Commission is comprised of leaders ranging from congressman Keith Ellison to Coca-Cola CEO Mehtar Kent and Blue State Digital’s very own founding partner, Joe Rospars. They’re busy putting together a formal report, to be released in January, and in the meantime are looking to collect grass-roots ideas and stories to enhance their findings. Whether you’re a doctor, a global health grad student, a Peace Corps alumni, or just a concerned citizen, the Smart Global Health Commission wants to know what you think.

Submissions are already pouring in from all over. Here’s just a few of the great ideas we’ve seen:

Denise A. decided to focus on obesity. “The rate of cholesterolemia, Type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses has continually increased over the past two decades, and is affecting children and adults alike,” she writes, adding that a reduction in the use of high-fructose corn syrup in food preparation is crucial to global health.

Rori H. suggests a shift in focus from acute illnesses to chronic diseases: “The WHO states that if the major risk factors for chronic diseases were eliminated, a minimum of 80 percent of heart disease deaths, strokes, and Type 2 diabetes would be prevented and 40 percent of cancers could be avoided.”

“Telecommunications will become more reliable and more widespread over the next 15 years,” points out Jason C., who suggests that the U.S. could have an enormous impact by promoting better communications technology in the global medical community. He says practices such as telemedicine are “inexpensive, universal, workable, doable, sustainable, and can be government-friendly.”

What do you think is the solution? Make sure to submit your stories and ideas now.

Demanding representation that represents the voters

Matthew McGregor — 2009-10-27T15:12:20+00:00

When a huge scandal over MPs' abuse of parliamentary expenses erupted in Britain this summer, supporters of electoral reform realised they had an unprecedented opportunity to change the British political system.

In June, a coalition of those supporters launched the Vote for a Change campaign, which is calling for a referendum on the electoral system for the House of Commons. Vote for a Change turned to Blue State Digital's London team to provide the technology and strategic expertise to mobilise a broad constituency of British citizens.

The coalition is demanding a new voting system that better captures the will of the people. As Vote for a Change puts it: Politics is too important to be left to the politicians.

Using BSD's campaign tools and strategic advice, Vote for a Change quickly managed to gather thousands of signatures on an open letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He wrote back, acknowledging their "wide and impressive representation" and offering to meet representatives of the campaign.

As Vote for a Change increased the pressure on political leaders to act, Brown announced that he would support a referendum that replaces Britain's existing "First Past the Post" system with the "Alternative Vote." This would ensure that MP candidates must get a majority of votes to be elected.

Unfortunately, this system ultimately may be no more proportional than the status quo and wouldn't happen until after the general election. So Vote for a Change still has a lot to fight for.

This week, BSD helped Vote for a Change launch a new campaign website to hammer home the need for decisive action in the Queen's Speech, when the government will outline its legislative programme for the year.

The campaign has a tough challenge -- but a unique opportunity to change the face of British democracy. BSD will be there to help them make the most of it.

HBO Looks Back on a Historic Election, One Year Later

Teddy Goff — 2009-10-26T16:42:30+00:00

On November 3, the day before the one-year anniversary of Obama's election, HBO will premiere By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, a documentary that offers an inside look on his historic campaign.

Blue State Digital has teamed up with HBO and the filmmakers to launch hbobythepeople.com, a website that enables anyone to organize viewing parties and relive their favorite moments from the campaign.

The website is updated daily with a look back at the campaign called "One Year Ago Today". Visitors can also vote for their favorite campaign moment and submit their own memories from the historic campaign.

Where will you be watching?

THIRTEEN asks for votes on history’s most influential musical artist

Eric Bull — 2009-10-26T12:36:48+00:00

Who was the most influential musician in world history? That's the question being asked by THIRTEEN, the country's largest public television station, as part of the promotion for its new documentary, How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin.

Directed by Leslie Woodhead, the film, airing on November 9, documents the powerful effect that the Fab Four had on Soviet youth in the 1960's, and how the Beatles' message of rebellion and individualism played a part in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Working with BSD, THIRTEEN is inviting viewers to nominate their choice for the artist who has had the most impact on world history. The station has already received more than 750 nominations; contenders include Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Michael Jackson, the Grateful Dead, and, of course, the Beatles.

Voting opens next month - nominate your favorite artist now. And check out these scenes of Russian bands covering the Beatles from How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin.

Bill Cosby virtual town hall tonight

Eric Bull — 2009-10-19T21:31:37+00:00

Here's a last-minute opportunity to check out a fun and interesting event: Starting at 7:00 PM EST, Bill Cosby will be holding a virtual town hall streamed live on the Internet.

The event, titled "A Conversation About the Crisis Confronting our People," will feature Mr. Cosby and the members of the band the Cosnarati fielding all types of questions via Twitter — and playing a few songs from their new album. Tune in to watch the event here, or tweet your question to @billcosby.

The Bill Cosby team is now working with Blue State Digital to organize the Bill Cosby community around this town hall and promote the new hip-hop album State of Emergency, a collaboration between Cosby and the Cosnarati. State of Emergency features music from the Cosnarati and socially conscious lyrics penned by Cosby himself.

Said Cosby about the album: "I don't like referring to the music as 'clean.' What I like is what you're not going to do. You're not going to curse. You're not going to put women down. You're not going to put the glory of the gun somewhere. And you're not going to put a whole lot of violence up front like that's the thing that will cleanse you and make you feel better."

Producer and longtime Cosby collaborator William "Spaceman" Patterson concurs: "We want people to receive State of Emergency the way we made it: as a gift, an opportunity for dialogue between children and parents, and an alternative to the cookie-cutter sound that's out here. Hopefully, we can tear down some walls and be part of the solution, not the problem."

Watch the virtual town hall live here and listen to a track from the new album at BillCosby.com.

Yes, it’s possible here

Dan Thain — 2009-10-15T18:18:41+00:00

That will be the message when Blue State Digital heads to Spain next month for PDF Europe, which bills itself as "the world’s largest conference on technology and politics."

After the 2008 U.S. presidential election there was much debate - and speculation - about the potential of a similar bottom-up online program working in Europe.

The cultural differences between the U.S. and Europe are real but not absolute. An online program that is geared toward substantive interaction and mobilisation can be successful in Europe.

Yes, it’s possible here.

One of the best examples is BSD client Hope Not Hate, which built a 100 percent opt-in email list that is bigger than each of the top three parties in the UK, with a staff of only a few people.

Starting in late 2008, Blue State Digital expanded into Europe - and has worked with clients in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden.

Blue State Digital founding partner Joe Rospars and BSD London director Matthew McGregor will be among an impressive list of speakers at PDF's first conference outside of the United States.

Tickets are still available here (and if you purchase one today, you'll receive a 50-euro discount.)

Email isn’t dead

Lauren Miller — 2009-10-13T16:49:21+00:00

According to Jessica Vascellaro of the Wall Street Journal, email is dead.

Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is over.

In its place, a new generation of services is starting to take hold - services like Twitter and Facebook and countless others vying for a piece of the new world. And just as email did more than a decade ago, this shift promises to profoundly rewrite the way we communicate - in ways we can only begin to imagine.

That's going just a bit too far. In fact, if you saw the way the entire world freaked out when Gmail crashed last month, you know that email is far from dead. Email is still the primary way that people communicate online.

Yes, Facebook and Twitter may be growing faster than email, but that's only because email already dominates the online communications market. According to 2009 numbers from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 91 percent of online adults use email - including 79 percent of online adults over the age of 73.

Let's compare those numbers to social networking. Despite the hype, Pew found that at its largest age demographic penetration, 67 percent of 18-32 year olds online use sites like Facebook or Twitter. Only 35 percent of all online adults use the sites. True, the numbers for social networking websites are growing rapidly, and provide valuable tools for communicating with friends and family members in new and exciting ways, but they still have a long way to go to replace email - especially in a professional setting.

When it comes to the work Blue State Digital does for our clients, email is still the backbone of our online advocacy and communications strategy with supporters. President Obama's 13-million person campaign email list was widely regarded as one of his most important political weapons during the campaign. The Obama campaign sent more than 2 billion messages during the race - the source of most of the $500 million raised online.

And it's not just the Obama campaign that has benefitted from a strong email program. From advocacy organizations to nonprofits, cultural institutions to universities, strong email components have the proven ability to tell stories, build relationships, and drive action with supporters in ways that an insulated Facebook fan page and a 140 character tweet have yet to do.

For campaigns, organizations and nonprofits, there's the important issue of data control that you just don't have with social networking websites. Say, for example, that you've gotten 10,000 to sign an Act.ly Twitter petition for your cause. Great - now what? Unlike outside social networking programs, you control the data of your own email list. By owning your email program, you know who your supporters are and can message them as you see fit - not under Facebook or Twitter's Terms of Service. What's even more important, you can segment and target your email messages as much as possible to cater to the interests of your supporters. You can look at your results, study the numbers, and create more meaningful conversations that really resonate with people.

Indeed, online communication is changing, and understanding how social networking fits in your personal and professional life to achieve your desired goals is an important conversation to have. Writing off email, however, is not the solution. Email might look archaic compared to the flashy, trendy social networking sites - but the slow and steady tortoise just might beat the hare in the race. It's because email has been around so long, and because it's so simple to use, that people feel comfortable with it online.

100,000 strong

Alex Kellner — 2009-10-12T20:02:29+00:00

The US Bid Committee and the movement to bring the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™ to the United States reached a significant milestone last week. Check out their blog post on reaching 100,000 signatures in less than two months:

In less than 2 months, GoUSABid reached a significant milestone today – 100,000 Americans declared that the Game is in US.

Our movement is growing and our collective voice is getting louder and louder.

I know it's clear to you, but soon the whole world will know just how much this country loves the game of soccer.

For that we need your help: tell all your friends about this first milestone and ask them to support the United States’ bid to host the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™.

GoUSABid launched our website just fifty-eight days ago – amassing 100,000 supporters in less than two months.

In the comments, guess how long it will take before we reach 200k?

Don't forget to sign GoUSABid's petition to bring the FIFA World Cup™ to the United States.

BSD Labours away in the UK

Nick Parrott — 2009-10-09T17:00:27+00:00

The Labour Party in the UK held their Annual Conference in Brighton last week, marking the beginning of the campaign leading up to next year's general election. Blue State Digital's London team was busy working with several of our clients to help promote their campaigns and goals at the Conference.

Unions Together showcased BSD's video on the effects of pleural plaques and the need to get justice for its victims. The video was introduced by Tony Woodley - joint general secretary of Unite, Britain's largest trade union - and watched by an audience of hundreds. Speakers urged supporters to sign up to the campaign online at http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/justice.

Also showcasing their online campaign was Hope Not Hate, Britain's leading voice against the far-right BNP. At a packed event at the conference, Hope Not Hate showed delegates and supporters a video explaining how they had built Britain's largest and most powerful campaign email list.

Also active at the conference was the Communication Workers Union. Earlier this year BSD helped the CWU persuade the government to keep Britain's postal service in public hands. A key plank of the campaign was added when the Prime Minister announced in his conference address that the Post Office would become the Post Bank - securing its future and providing vital financial services in all communities.

Unions fighting together for justice

Dan Thain — 2009-10-09T16:25:44+00:00

Over the past few weeks, the BSD London office has been supporting the campaign to win compensation for the victims of Pleural Plaques - a disease caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.

Since compensation for this terrible disease was revoked in 2007, trade unions have been campaigning to win justice for their members, thousands of whom were suffering due to the negligence of their employers. Unions Together, a BSD client representing all Labour-affiliated unions to the party, decided to take the campaign online using BSD's tools and strategic advice.

The project included a powerful and moving video, in which victims told their own stories of how pleural plaques had affected their lives.

Alan Clark - one of the sufferers who spoke of his own experiences in the video - died shortly after filming. He was determined to record a message, and asked his union to use his story to get justice for the thousands of others still living with the disease.

The video was launched at the Trades Union Congress annual conference in September, where delegates voted unanimously to support the campaign. Unions Together used the video to launch a web and email campaign to collect signatures on a petition demanding justice. It's been shown on BBC news multiple times and has featured in numerous newspapers, articles and blogs.

Joe Rospars on the Obama campaign and social media

Dan Thain — 2009-09-29T14:36:25+00:00

The United Kingdom's Channel 4 recently aired this segment on the Obama campaign's groundbreaking new media strategy.

The campaign's New Media Director and BSD founding partner Joe Rospars talks about how the campaign made the website a "gravitational force" on the campaign and how it allowed users to attend events and take action in every corner of the country.

But most importantly, Joe points out why the campaign succeeded: it took ordinary people seriously.

Engaging, empowering and "respecting people every step of the way" were the guiding principles of the campaign - and they came directly from Barack Obama at the top. After all, as a community organizer - he knows a little something about how to talk to his neighbors.

And a special shout out to BSD's own Kyle Rush, Megan Rollins and Jared Laser - who we believe have just made their respective debuts on British television.

Raising a website and awareness for Malawi

Alex Kellner — 2009-09-29T12:44:31+00:00

Madonna and Michael Berg founded Raising Malawi to bring an end to the extreme poverty and hardship facing Malawi's 2 million orphans and vulnerable children.

The small, sub-Saharan nation of 14 million people is struggling to overcome widespread HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, and a lack of essential infrastructure. Raising Malawi hopes do more than just change one country--it aims to make a positive impact on vulnerable populations throughout Africa.

That is why BSD is pleased to partner with Raising Malawi on the re-launch of their site RaisingMalawi.org.

The new website invites visitors to learn more about Malawi through compelling mini-documentaries on of the plight of Malawians -- and aims generate support for those in the greatest need. RaisingMalawi.org provides opportunities for those who want to do more - volunteering, raising awareness, and donating towards efforts on the ground that are improving Malawian children's lives.

BSD's Thaddeus Kromelis says of the experience:

"Watching the documentaries on the site, you realize the children of Malawi endure such harsh circumstances, and yet their spirits remain unbroken. It's remarkable. This really left an impression on me. It's a great privilege to work on a project that aims to improve the lives of such incredible people."

Raising Malawi was founded in the spirit of ubuntu, an African philosophy that acknowledges the common bond and fate shared by all peoples. Through this connection, we have a responsibility not to turn our backs on those in need, and this is why we must raise Malawi.

Madonna Match

To encourage involvement on the site, Madonna has pledged $100,000 to match every donation on the site, dollar for dollar. If we take advantage of this opportunity, then together we can raise $200,000 to ensure Malawians have opportunities to improve their lives.

Congratulations Democratic nominee Bill Thompson

Alex Kellner — 2009-09-17T18:58:39+00:00

Tuesday, Bill Thompson overwhelmingly won the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City - bringing New York one-step closer to having a Mayor that truly serves all New Yorkers.

Thompson won the election with 70 precent of the vote and is set to take on Michael Bloomberg on November 3rd.

Take a moment to watch Thompson's victory speech where he thanks the community of supporters who ensured his victory:

Blue State Digital would also like to congratulate Councilman David Yassky who advanced into a runoff election for NYC Comptroller.

This year’s must read: True Compass

Alex Kellner — 2009-09-17T17:50:37+00:00

Sometimes there is a book that everybody simply needs to read. Senator Edward M. Kennedy's memoir True Compass - which was released Monday - falls into that category.

In the deeply touching and inspirational book, the late Senator tells the extraordinary personal story "of his legendary family, politics and fifty years at the center of national events."

Take a moment to watch Sen. Kennedy talk about the autobiography:

The book is available for purchase everywhere.

Correcting the record in London

Thomas Gensemer — 2009-09-17T17:18:33+00:00

BSD has been very grateful to so receive many accolades for our work, including press attention around the world. Here at home and abroad, the increasing diversity of our client portfolio has piqued the interest of reporters of business, politics and culture news alike. And while all the attention is usually flattering and beneficial to our clients and friends, it sometimes gets out of hand. Such is the case today.

In today's UK issue of PR Week we are profiled for our expanding reach and early success in the UK. For regular readers of this blog, you know of our work with Hope Not Hate, Unions Together, the Communication Workers and others. Our expanding team on the ground in London, which is deeply integrated with colleagues here in the US, deserves every bit of credit for this early success. But as the country gets ready for a general election next Spring, intensity is high and the press is all too keen to make shocking headlines and accusations.

Today's PR Week feature comes under the unfortunate headline "Barack Obama presidential campaign guru Thomas Gensemer slams Labour" and deserves to be critiqued:

I didn't work for Barack Obama's campaign. The company I run provided the technology for the campaign and the party, and my business partner Joe Rospars ran the digital side of the communications, organizing and fundraising efforts full-time from Chicago. He had a big team of talented people working for him, including many who have since joined us at BSD.
At BSD we believe the term "guru" is absurd and is wildly overused. We are practitioners of authentic, transparent online engagement campaigns. There are no secret formulas, no magic gurus.
My statements on Labour and their online efforts so far have been that the team in place is both very competent and accomplished in their own right but need additional support and resources (i.e. budget, staff, creative freedom). This isn't news, and for those paying attention has been a subject of panel discussions and speeches by many people at conferences for at least a year. And it's not unique to Labour -- the same issues persist at large charities and membership organizations in the UK and here in the US. So while the longer version of PR Week's story does accurately quote me, the headline is inappropriately shocking and deliberately misleading. And for this I'm sorry to our friends working hard in Victoria Street every day.

For our clients big and small, political and commercial, we advise on and help execute digital campaigns that have the power to transform relationships with individual members, activists, voters and customers. Our goal as an agency is never to build the coolest Web site with the latest and greatest tools but to, instead, offer the power and unmatched scalability of technology and social networks to build broad-based support for our clients offline initiatives, be it fundraising, targeted advocacy, volunteerism or sales.

As our friends at Labour ready for what will be a hard-fought campaign, we see great progress on their online efforts. From the recent relaunch of MembersNet, which opened online tools to non-Party members, to the growth of their volunteer phone banking tool, we see them using familiar tactics and lowering the barrier to entry to participation by Labour members up and down the country, online and off. And the polticians are getting it too -- from Blackburn Labour Party to Tom Harris or Ed Milliband, figures within the Party are using new technology to reach out to audiences and engage them in a genuine two-way relationship.

But to maximise the Party's return they need more staff, more resources and more latitude to experiment, and they need it right away.

We are and will continue to be supportive of Labour's efforts and will help in any way we can. Meanwhile, we continue our work with an increasing number of progressive and pro-Labour organizations, all of which will play a critical role in the election contest ahead.

Welcoming our veterans back home

Eric Bull — 2009-09-11T18:48:08+00:00

Today, as Americans from coast to coast reflect on the anniversary of September 11th, there's no more fitting time to pay our respects to the courageous servicemen and women risk their lives every day to ensure our safety and security.

That's why BSD is especially proud today to partner with Welcome Back Veterans to launch the new Welcomebackveterans.org.

Welcome Back Veterans is a project of the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball Charities, and is dedicated to inspiring Americans to take care of our veterans returning home from action. The organization is particularly focused on mitigating the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition that affects many of the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - and all too often fails to get the medical attention it deserves.

BSD's Teddy Goff talked about how rewarding it has been to work on the Welcome Back Veterans project:

"It was a special treat to work with Welcome Back Veterans to make sure our soldiers get the care they deserve when they come back home. We built this website to help create a real community of Americans who support our veterans - and an online hub where they can do it. We knew that today Americans would be looking for ways to show our servicemen and women how much they care - and this website gives them even more opportunities to take action."

Among other things, Welcomebackveterans.org allows users to send a thank you note to Veterans, invite your friends to join the movement - as well as make a donation to fund critical programs for our servicemen and women. And if you're a veteran; a parent or loved one of a veteran; a health care provider; or an everyday American who wants to serve our veterans, there's a dedicated page at WelcomeBackVeterans with resources and message boards just for you.

Our brave veterans are in our thoughts today, and hopefully we can all work together to take care of them every other day of year as well.

Speed Matters releases latest report on Internet speeds

Scott Zumwalt — 2009-09-07T20:49:53+00:00

Two weeks ago, the press and blogs took note of the Speed Matters third annual study on Internet download speeds.

Based on more than 413,000 speed tests taken at speedmatters.org, the report concluded that despite small gains, it will take the U.S. 15 years to catch up with current Internet speeds in South Korea.

USA Today summed up the results of the report:

"The average Internet download speed in the USA is 5.1 megabits per second, though consumers' online experiences can vary dramatically, depending on where they happen to live... On balance, speeds in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were faster. Speeds in the South and in rural areas were markedly slower."

Several other media outlets and bloggers cited the new report as evidence for the U.S. lagging behind other nations including: Chicago Sun Times, The Christian Science Monitor, LA Times, PC Magazine, Life Hacker and GigaOm.

You too can find out how fast your speed is by taking the Speed Matters speed test and checking how your state stacks up in this year's report.

Congratulations to Speed Matters for another fantastic report. We're proud to be a partner in your effort to bring affordable high-speed Internet for all Americans.

BSD named one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing companies

Thomas Gensemer — 2009-08-25T17:58:36+00:00

Thanks to our clients and congrats to the entire BSD team for our recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's fasting growing companies for their annual Inc. 500, on newsstands and online this month. Blue State Digital was ranked number 570 out of 5000 companies ranked.

We were recognized in their Advertising & Marketing Services category for our year-on-year revenue growth between 2005 and 2008. Even more important, though unrecognized in this survey, is that our growth has continued in 2009. You can see in the profile that the 2008 snapshot (taken sometime last fall) lists us with just 46 employees. With this year's expansion in Europe, Los Angeles and substantial growth in our DC, NYC and Boston offices, today we're 105!

We're working hard for another recognition in 2010, including breaking into the coveted top 500.

The Game is in US

Eric Bull — 2009-08-12T17:43:49+00:00

For those of you around to watch in 1994, remember how much fun it was to have the FIFA World Cup™ in the U.S.?

74,000 fans at Giants Stadium in New Jersey watched Bulgaria's magic run end in a defeat to Italy. Over 90,000 fans in Pasadena watched Brazil win the title in a classic defensive struggle.

The U.S. World Cup Bid Committee has partnered with BSD to launch Gousabid.com and make that magic happen again. The website aims to build a strong community of American soccer fans (and soon-to-be soccer fans) who are ready to stand up and let the world know that The Game is in US.

With the skyrocketing popularity of soccer, and great cities and stadiums coast-to-coast, few other countries are as well suited to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup™ as is the United States.

Be sure to check out the site - especially the interactive timeline showing the history of a soccer in the U.S. and the blog where you can read all the latest world cup bid news. Plus, you can get a cool sticker in the mail for free, just for signing the petition!

Matt Ipcar, BSD's design director, had a blast building the site:

"Working with the Bid Committee and designing www.gousabid.com has been unlike any other project I've ever worked on. Unlike some of our previous campaign projects, the energy and raw excitement surrounding the USA World Cup Bid is politically colorblind and covers the entire American spectrum. I'm thrilled to have a hand in activating thousands - hopefully millions - of American soccer fans. We want to give them a forum to let FIFA know that we want the World Cup here - and let the world know that we're ready for it."

Without a doubt, it's been an incredibly exciting and interesting project to work on. And the launch couldn't have happened on a better day. Today at 4:00 PM EDT the U.S. National Team heads to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to face the Mexican National Team.

Hopefully we can sneak in a few minutes to watch.

An inside view of health in Kenya

Gene Koo — 2009-08-12T13:36:01+00:00

As we write this, the Commission on Smart Global Health Policy is traversing Kenya.

The Commission went to Africa to witness first-hand the outcomes of U.S. investment in global health, as well as the challenges that remain. And thousands more observers are following along, because the Commission is offering an unprecedented level of openness and transparency. That's why Blue State Digital was brought in: to create a new kind of website for a new kind of Commission.

The phrase "blue ribbon commission" often suggests a cadre of experts dreaming up Big Ideas in an ivory tower. But that's not what the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) had in mind when they convened the Commission on Smart Global Health Policy. CSIS is one of the world's preeminent international policy institutions, with a network of thousands of experts. And the Commission they assembled is a veritable who's who of global health, foreign policy, and national security experts.

Yet these days, more Americans than ever have on-the-ground experience with global health. CSIS understood that a 21st century think tank needs a way to tap into that grassroots expertise. SmartGlobalHealth.org is the nexus for that community to come together. Through the site, the Commission is soliciting questions and ideas about how to make U.S. investments in global health more effective and efficient - input that will inform and improve the Commission's final report to be released in January 2010.

BSD also notes with pride that founding partner Joe Rospars sits on the Commission, alongside such luminaries as former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, former CentCom Commander Admiral William J. Fallon (ret.), President and CEO of CARE Helene Gayle, and many others.

During the three days of the Commission's trip to Kenya, we're helping CSIS flood the site with exciting news, from first-hand observations to deeper thoughts to snapshots of the places they've visited. Commissioner and Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) has been making headlines as he Twitters live from Africa on his Blackberry. Sample tweet: "Kismumu: talking w/ orphans and vulnerable children of HIV/AIDS scourge. Resilience!"

And as the Commissioners digest what they've seen over the coming weeks, expect to see more extensive analysis as well as videos from the BSD team that's capturing it all on film. It's all part of the broader effort to bring home the issue of global health and why it matters to average Americans.

Keep watching for more ways to participate as the Commission sharpens its focus on more specifics, and enlists more and more grassroots experts on global health. If you're one of them, this is your chance to make a difference.

Do you know a hero?

TJ Helmstetter — 2009-08-10T12:38:30+00:00

The United Jewish Communities/Jewish Federations of North America recognized a need to highlight the diversity of activism and problem-solving in communities across the U.S. and Canada, so they decided to partner with BSD to launch the Jewish Community Heroes campaign.

A Jewish Community Hero can be anyone - a student running bake sales for charity, a teacher building a school for the underserved, an entrepreneur donating services to neighborhood development.

Anyone who visits the site can nominate a hero and vote for the finalists. So far, the campaign has enlisted nearly 50 (and counting!) national Jewish agencies and local federations, and has dozens of nominees in just the first week.

The campaign will wrap up in November at the UJC's General Assembly, where they will honor the five finalists and the Hero of the Year, who will receive a $25,000 community service grant.

BSD is proud to partner with UJC and the federations as they seek to build deeper relationships with their constituents through promoting participation in the campaign and public service among the entire Jewish community.

The campaign is built upon the core Jewish value of "tikkun olam," which means "to repair or perfect the world." What's more important than that?

An ode to System Administrators

Alex Kellner — 2009-07-31T13:05:41+00:00

They are the masters of the server, maintainers of load balancers and monitors of web traffic.

BSD's Lead System Administrator Leigh Heyman

They talk in a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms, abbreviations and technospeak.

They are the men and women who fix problems 24/7/365 when others get ambitious and think they can solve a minor glitch - breaking everything instead.

They are the postmasters of email, the architects of networks and the security guards of websites.

They have a job description that is Latin to even the savviest of online professionals.

They are, in the fullest sense, true men (and women) of genius.

Today is SysAdmin Appreciation Day. So, here at Blue State Digital we want to give a big thanks to all of our System Administrators - Leigh, Adam, Conner, Cheyenne and Dan.

Without the hard work of these five people, the rest of our efforts at Blue State Digital would be rendered completely meaningless.

Live it up today, BSD SysAdmins, because tomorrow we'll be calling you at 3AM, asking you to fix our mistakes again.

Clockwise from top left: Conner Finlay (on dress like Seth Reznik day), Adam Bell, Cheyenne Greatorex and Dan Slimmon

A dirty new site

Shane Mayer — 2009-07-27T12:47:42+00:00

Let's face it: global warming is real. And the connection between climate change and soil is as real as the dirt beneath our feet. Dirt! The Movie, narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has.

Earlier this week, Blue State Digital helped to launch a more interactive, engaging and - shall we say - "dirtier" website. The new website demonstrates that this isn't just a movie, but a movement.

Since the Sundance World Premiere the film and film makers are on the festival circuit (Woods Hole, Gimli, and DocuWeeks), and the new website will help this movement grow. DIRT! the Movie is a timely and insightful film and--recognizing the importance of a healthy planet--BSD is glad to be a part of the DIRT! movement.

Red Cross President: “A 128 year old institution can participate in the digital age”

Scott Zumwalt — 2009-07-22T20:07:38+00:00

The President and CEO of the American Red Cross, Gail McGovern, visited the National Press Club yesterday to headline a luncheon and discuss her first year of service to the organization.

In her speech, "Navigating a Nonprofit through Turbulent Economic Waters," McGovern discussed how the Red Cross has tackled the challenges it has faced -- a record year for disasters, an enormous deficit and a devastating recession.

The biggest accomplishment? The Red Cross has reduced its operating deficit by 75% -- from $209 million a year ago to $50 million today. That's $86 million better than expected.

This morning's Washington Post points to some of the reasons about how they've done it:

"McGovern said the organization had stayed on mission, and that had restored public confidence. It also found new ways to raise money, including working with the digital media company that raised funds for the Obama campaign. 'Our goal is to not only raise money episodically during a disaster, but to ensure that we have the funds to respond before a disaster strikes,' she said."

In her speech, Gail discussed some of the work the Red Cross and Blue State Digital team has been doing to engage and empower donors, volunteers and supporters online:

"We're using Blue State Digital, the digital media agency who worked to raise funds for the Obama campaign in order to make a stronger push on-line. We were able to raise $1 million in just 3 weeks with the average size gift less than one hundred dollars."

"They've also helped us connect donors and volunteers to each other through essay contests and donors matching donors."

"Then there's Facebook, where earlier this year, there was a mad frenzy of viral marketing to vote for the Red Cross in a charity giveaway. We won 794 thousand dollars!"

"We've also sent emails with tips to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, and we had fun sending emails from runway model Heidi Klum, and Yankees second basemen Robinson Cano, about CPR training. These activities have brought us 9,000 new donors; six percent committed to sustained giving with a gift of at least twenty dollars per month. But just as importantly, it shows that despite many challenges, a 128 year old institution can participate in the digital age."

Click here to download a PDF version of Gail's speech or watch the whole speech below:

From the vault: Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Waldemart

Alex Kellner — 2009-07-16T15:03:10+00:00

At Blue State Digital we spend much of our time looking into the future, identifying and utilizing new trends, tactics and technologies.

Sometimes, however, we catch ourselves looking backwards at old projects.

This particular project - a video released by long-time BSD client Wal-Mart Watch - seemed too fitting not to "re-release."

Synthesizing, seemingly every major news story of the past three weeks, the video features Harry Potter, Health Care, Michael Jackson and, of course, Wal-Mart.

Not in my name

Dan Thain — 2009-07-16T12:47:26+00:00

After two members of the fascist British National Party won seats in the European Parliament last month, BSD client Hope Not Hate started collecting names and faces for a petition proclaiming that their election was "not in my name."

In a Huffington Post piece, MP Jon Cruddas wrote:

"80,000 people signed an anti-BNP message directed at the president of the European Parliament. To mark the opening of the Parliament tomorrow, Hope Not Hate has released a new video produced by its online team, Blue State Digital. The video is a powerful rebuff to the BNP -- and shows a united movement of modern Britain that sets itself against the hateful division of racists who would turn the clock back."

Hope Note Hate released the video on a standalone site, NotInMyName.tv, encouraging viewers share it on Twitter and upload their own picture:

Blue State Digital is excited to continue working with Hope Not Hate as they use innovative strategies to combat fascism in Britain and beyond.

Alternate Universe: Blue State Digital and the Superhero Elections

Lauren Miller — 2009-07-10T20:50:38+00:00

Barack Obama isn't Blue State Digital's only superhero candidate.

The New Organizing Institute is one of BSD's favorite organizations. They help train progressive organizations and campaign staffers how to better use new media technology and communications strategies to empower supporters to take action.

This week, Blue State Digital lent a hand at NOI's Bootcamp 2009. As the website explains:

BootCamp is the New Organizing Institute's signature training event, bringing over 50 talented progressives to DC for an intense week-long training on campaigning, new media, online organizing, data and technology.

As part of their training, all of the attendees were split up into groups, where they ran mock campaigns for superheroes in their bid for DC Mayor. Three of the eight mayoral candidates - Superman, The Green Lantern and The Atom - built full campaign websites with Blue State Digital's tools. They then used our advocacy platform to sign up new supporters, invite friends to join their cause, and mass mail their voters for Friday's election.

BSD Senior Client Manager Ian Koski and Client Services Manager Chris Stelmarski provided extensive help to The Atom and Green Lantern teams, respectively - building the websites and assisting with technology and communications questions throughout the week. And I stuck around a large portion of the week, training the attendees on email strategy planning, writing, and online fundraising.

When you consider that most campaign websites take weeks, not hours, to build by professional developers - and that most campaigns have months, not days, to communicate with supporters, the work the NOI trainees did was really impressive. We had so much fun helping out (in fact, some of us got a little carried away) that next year Blue State wants to run its own candidate. In fact, we already have a slogan: "Truth. Justice. And the Blue State Way."

Learn more about the NOI mayoral election here..

A New Look For the Sundance Festival, 2010

Eric Bull — 2009-07-09T20:40:51+00:00

It doesn't get much cooler than Sundance.

The Sundance Film Festival started in 1978 as tiny event outside Salt Lake City every winter to showcase independent American films. Since then, its grown into the most important film festival in America - and one of the biggest in the world.

BSD is proud to have worked with the Sundance Institute to launch festival.sundance.com - the website for next year's Sundance Film Festival, with a fresh new look for 2010. Building off of the success of the 2009 festival site, the institute is working with BSD to grow the online presence of the event beyond its ten day run-time in January.

Murali, a member of BSD's design and production team, was one of the key architects of the new site. He weighed in on what the process has been like:

"It's always a blast to work with the folks over at the Sundance festival. This year they wanted us to break the mold for a festival website and create something that doesn't just give readers information on how to get to the festival and watch the films - but really allows them the participate from home."

Among other things, the new site features forms to submit your film, a showcase of all featured movies, a multimedia history of the festival, the festival's twitter feed and a ton of great videos. (And of course, all the information you'll need to get to next year's festival.)

Last year, a handful of BSD staff were lucky enough to make the trip out to Park City for last year's 25th anniversary festival, and all had a great time. We look forward to going out to Utah again this year.

BSD delivers Royal Mail success

Nick Parrott — 2009-07-06T19:18:48+00:00

In February, BSD London started working with the Communication Workers Union to help them prevent the planned privatisation of the UK postal service, Royal Mail. This week the government decided to shelve the plans, and many commentators credited the CWU's vigorous campaign.

CWU used the full range of BSD tools to build a grassroots campaign, most recently inviting union members and supporters to come up with the slogan for the CWU's planned nationwide billboard advertising campaign.

Nearly five hundred supporters sent in creative and inspired ideas for the billboards. CWU decided not just to use them on billboards but also as the text for the campaign's Google ads campaign as well.

Though the campaign achieved its aim before the billboards could actually be unveiled, the Google ads have been running this month on around a thousand keywords targeting the Royal Mail, potential buyers of Royal Mail and MPs who had not decided how they would vote on the Postal Services Bill.

Some of the slogans picked for billboards by the CWU include:

Loyal Mail. Keep the post public
Stamp out postal privatisation plans
Post Mandelson back to Brussels. It's our mail!
Postman Pat or Corporate Fat Cat? You decide
It's our Royal Mail - it's not for sale!
Sell Royal Mail? 1st class way to make it fail!

This is just one recent example of linking user-generated content to wider online and offline campaigning. The CWU's campaign will now move into a new phase and the BSD London team is looking forward to helping them achieve further success.