Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

After the last couple of decades of presidential campaigns we’ve grown accustomed - or perhaps weary - of reports about which famous people have donated to which candidate.  This availability of this information is designed to keep the campaign coffers relatively transparent, but it used to take a lot more effort to retrieve.  The Huffington Post’s FundRace2008 mashup caters to our more voyeuristic urges by plotting ALL donors (yes, that could be you) by address, employer, which campaign was donated to, and how much.  Look up your neighbors?  Easy.  Sort by employer?  Done.
 
There’s nothing technically wrong going on here, but at what point does the online channel provide a level of transparency that’s kind of creepy?  I punched in my hometown zip code and dragged the map around to see who was donating in the old neighborhood.  What about sweet, old Mr. and Mrs. Gaskin on Tuxedo Terrace?  When we were kids they used to give us candy if we picked up sticks in their yard.  Their son who now lives in the house gave $2,200 to Giuliani’s campaign.  (Maybe we should have held out for more than candy).  I’m impressed enough to call this an Exceptional Experience. Perhaps it’s just an Eerie Experience.
 
Michael Beavers