build software that people want to use

<p><a href="http://www.jwz.org/doc/groupware.html" target="_blanl">If you want to do something that's going to change the world, build software that people want to use instead of software that managers want to buy.</a></p> <p>This quote is from a little post I found, and it struck me as apt. As we think about how to make the web relavent to local campaigning, we can't set out with tools that are used for big national campaigns and expect that they are going to work.</p> <p>We need to use tools that people (voters) will use in the context of a local campaign. Can we expect that a local city council candidate's website will bring in a flood of low dollar donations? I don't think so, not when you have perhaps 300k people in a district, 150k voters, how can a candidate reach a critical mass on the web? </p> <p>The local candidate website cannot be looked at as a fundraising tool at this point, but should be considered a communication a tool. A tool that allows the campaign to communicate with its supporters and in turn the supporter to communicate with their friends and neighbors.</p>