After the November election, pundits and strategists began taking a look at where the Republican digital operation needed improvement.
We knew we overcame many disadvantages in 2012 in only a few months, but if we want to win digital in the future, criticizing what went wrong will only go so far. Republican strategists need to open the lines of communication now.
#polichat is the first weekly discussion to accomplish this, and it’s happening on Twitter. Every Monday afternoon, for 30 minutes at 12 p.m. Eastern, political and digital professionals are asked to have lunch at their desk and participate in an open discussion over non-sensitive crafts of their trade—by tweeting.
The way it works is simple: a moderator presents two to three topics focused on how operatives and staffers can use digital more effectively on a campaign or while governing. Participants use the hashtag #polichat to respond and discuss. When it’s all over, the chat is archived and a few participants are asked to expand on their comments with in-depth discussion blogs throughout the week on the #polichat blog.
#polichat’s goal is to become a resource and collaboration hub for strategists at every level— from recent graduate to veteran strategist, local operative to Congressional leadership staffer. Sharing knowledge and strategies for success will lead to a more informed group of campaign operatives and more Republican victories.
If Republicans are going to successfully tackle the digital challenges we will face in 2016, we must start now. Having a conversation and encouraging cooperation online is a good start.
Bill Murphy is a digital public affairs strategist. Most recently, he worked on the Romney 2012 campaign. You can find him on Twitter @billmurphy.