[DigDemo] MoveOn.org

Wes Boyd of MoveOn.org tells the organization's story.

Q: What's your relationship with the palindromic George Soros.

A: He approached us. He asked what sort of matching fund do you want. It cost me flat-footed. I said 2:1.

Q: When will you have a blog and RSS feeds?

A: After 2004. We worry about opposition researchers using it against us. We have an online forum, which isn't a perfect medium.

Q: It's great that you have 2M addresses, but ultimately it's hierarchical: the agenda is set by the person who runs the site.

A: I don't know if this medium is going to be driven towards monopoly or diversity. I'd like to see it be diverse, with many MoveOns. But I don't know which way the dynamics will drive us. After the election I expect they'll be focus on this.

Q: Maybe you could run a contest to find a better word than "grassroots." [Of all the words to want to replace!] And why toasters? [Wes' first company, Berkeley, made the famous flying toasters screen saves.]

A: I agree with you about grassroots. And our lead engineer had to come up with a 4-frame animation one night and was in his kitchen...

Q: Who owns your mailing list? Will you share it with other organizations?

A: We will never sell or rent the list.

Q: Why not fund documentaries and the like? That'd be more cost-effective than sponsoring ads.

A: We're looking into that. But our members appreciate immediacy, whereas documentaries have a longer lead time.

Q: [Jay] Why not put some money for a "reality check" fund. Create a mutual fund for public interest journalism.

A: Good idea.

Q: [Micah Sifry] That'd be fantastic for investigative journalism. 1. How about your embracing Gray Davis. Wasn't that a sign that you don't have perfect pitch? 2. Are you going to do another MoveOn primary? 3. Are you thinking about what to do about presidential debates?

A: 1. We knew it was going to be difficult. The winning side is playing every trick in the book. 2. We haven't done another primary because we had the impact we wanted with the first one. 3. No, we haven't thought about debates.

Q: I was interested in your comments on the importance of listening and creating a broad message. How can we move towards a broader consensus?

A: That's what we're trying to do.

Q: [Tim O'Reilly] You've gotten people who are relatively like-minded to come together. How do you get the dialogue over the divide?

A: I think you do it by pulling people in not through extreme partisan rhetoric but by using yourself engaed in civil discourse. We're a centrist country with an overlay of team behavior. It's tough.

Q: [Tim] Any issues that matter to your base that would appeal more broadly?

A: Freedom. Budget deficit.

Q: How can we, in the audience, help you out?

A: Great question. I need to think about it more.

[Half the audience stands to applaud. Me, too.]