members

Welcome to The PdF Network, Personal Democracy Forum’s premium membership section. Perfect for anyone in politics, advocacy, and non-profits looking to harness the power of new technology and journalists looking to understand this transformation, the PdF Network is a great way to stay involved in new tools, processes, uses and trends.

Every month, PdF Network members get access to conference calls with leaders in the political-technology arena, and previews of new and useful products. We also offer a discounted package of training webinars, offered by our partners at Idealware, the country's leading experts on the best tools and practices for successful political advocacy. We also periodically survey members on their preferences for services, review companies and software products, and share those results with the PdF Network.

Upcoming Conference Calls

  • Reform by Video: How to Build an Organization Using Online Video
  • UPDATE: This call has been postponed. We apologize for the inconvenience; stay tuned for a rescheduled date!
  • Guest: Jacob Soboroff, Executive Director, Why Tuesday and Correspondent, AMC News
  • Become a member and join the call!
  • Your Town, Online: The Future of Internet Community Reporting
  • Thursday, April 1st, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Ben Berkowitz, founder/CEO, SeeClickFix
  • Become a member and join the call!
  • Voices from the Campaign Trail: Best Practices in Campaign Blogging
  • Thursday, April 29th, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Sam Graham-Felsen, Blue State Digital
  • Become a member and join the call!
  • Paper-free Politics: How the Internet Replaced Traditional Outreach in the TX Governor's Race
  • Thursday, May 13th, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Ryan Gravatt, Quicksilver Internet Solutions
  • Become a member and join the call!
  • "Friending" DC: How Campaigns, Causes and Elected Officials are Using Facebook
  • Thursday, May 27th, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Adam Conner, Facebook
  • Become a member and join the call!
  • Upcoming Speakers and Topics
  • Stay tuned for scheduling updates...

  • To listen to past PdF Conference Calls as Podcasts, make sure to check out our archive page.

Webinars

  • Idealware Online Seminars: In-depth Tactical Advice on Software
  • Ongoing weekly seatings, generally 1:00-2:30 EST.
  • PdF Partner Idealware provides candid "Consumer Reports"-style reviews and critiques of software of interest to advocacy groups and campaigns of all stripes. Regular topics include: How to choose the best broadcast email software, building an effective email list; considering social media for your organization; choosing a low-cost constituent database; how to build or edit a website without technical skills; getting started with online donations; and using website analytics. Individual webinars are $40, but PdF Network members can purchase a set of three Idealware sessions for just $90.
  • Become a member and Join the Webinar!

How-To Videos

Executive Salons

  • Causewired Social Media Survival Seminars: Training for Executives
  • Schedule fluctuates based on demand.
  • PdF Partner CauseWired Communications conducts intimate day-long training salons designed to be a jargon-free journey through the new world of digital activism. Experienced managers are caught in a trap; they’re curious about the new web-enabled world, but unsure about how to proceed and catch up to it. Participants will leave with a basic understanding of social media tools, specific strategies to put into action when they go home, and the probability of at least one eye-opening “aha” moment when the world suddenly looks very different when seen through a social media lens.
  • Become a member and sign up!

PdF Conference Call Archive

  • Using Ning to Build Your Own Social Network
  • Thursday, March 19th, 1:30-2:30pm EST.
  • Guest: Gina Bianchini, co-founder of Ning.com. Today there are more than 600,000 active social networks running on Ning.com, each with their own custom look and feel. Top political sites include the Pickens Plan, TeamSarah, and ObamaCycle. On this call we'll explore the best practices for growing your own social network.
  • Podcast here.
  • Politics at the Speed of Light: Campaign Tactics in the Digital Age
  • Thursday, April 2nd, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Phil de Vellis, a senior associate and Vice President of New Media for Murphy Putnam Media. Philip has a wide range of professional experience in commercial post-production, politics, and Internet communications. He is best known as the creator of the "Vote Different" ad, which combined Apple's iconic "1984" spot with footage from Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign website.
  • Podcast here.
  • Longtail Nanotargeting with Google Ads: How to Find Your Activists and Voters
  • Thursday, April 16th, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Josh Koster.

    Josh Koster is the Managing Partner at Chong Designs LLC, a Washington based new-media advising firm specializing in digital marketing and brand management for progressive candidates and select corporations. Josh has consulted for a presidential campaign, three senate campaigns, six house races, nonprofits, a ballot initiative, a 527 as well as numerous local and municipal races, as well for companies and non-profits. He is credited with co-pioneering the self-micro-targeting campaign website and pioneering long tail political media. His work has been covered by Politics Magazine, ArsTechnica, ClickZ and TechPresident, to name just a few.
  • Podcast here.
  • How to Pitch (and Not Pitch) a Political Blogger
  • Thursday, April 30th, 1:00-1:30pm EST.
  • Guest: Ben Smith, Politico, & Ana Marie Cox, The Daily Beast.

    Ben Smith is Senior Political Writer for Politico, the first true multiplatform news source for people interested in politics. He has previously covered New York's City Hall for the New York Sun and politics for the New York Observer. In 2006, he was a political columnist for the New York Daily News and in 2005 and 2006 started three of New York City's leading political blogs, The Politicker, The Daily Politics, and Room Eight, for which he still writes occasionally about the New York scene.

    Ana Marie Cox is currently National Correspondent for Air America radio and contributor to The Daily Beast. In 2008 she covered the McCain campaign for Time, Radar, and, on her own blog. She was previously the founding editor of Wonkette.com (though she reminds us that she has nothing to do with it now).
  • Podcast here.
  • Return on Investment from Adopting Social Media
  • Thursday, May 14th, 1:00-2:00pm EST.
  • Guest: Allison Fine.

    Allison is a Senior Fellow on the Democracy Team at Demos: A Network for Change and Action in New York City. Fine’s research focuses on social media usage in and impact on social change, an explosive intersection she writes about in her award-winning book, Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age (Wiley & Sons, 2006). She has recently published a paper on young people and activism commissioned by the Case Foundation, Social Citizens, and co-edited with colleagues at the Personal Democracy Forum a collection of essays, Rebooting America, of transformative ways to reinvent 21st century democracy using new media tools. Fine hosts a monthly podcast for the Chronicle of Philanthropy called Social Good and writes her own blog, A. Fine Blog. Her articles have been published in the Boston Globe, San Jose Mercury Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is also a frequent contributor to Huffington Post, Personal Democracy Forum, Alternet and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
  • Podcast here.