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INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | AUGUST 2, 2000 MANAGEMENT Prime Time for Political Dot-Coms — in the Convention Halls These newbies are getting unprecedented exposure in Philly and L.A. Here's what it's all about
More than 30 Internet companies with a political bent to their business plans are staking turf at the Republican convention, and more than 70 are expected at the Democratic convention. Besides covering the conventions for their Web sites, these startups will be actively publicizing the various services their portals offer to politicians. And both the Republicans and Democrats are extending broad welcomes to their new cyber friends. In Philly, the Republicans have created, "Internet Alley," a space almost the size of a football field that will be home to online media and Internet companies showcasing their latest technology. Not to be out done, the Democrats will feature "Internet Avenue" to host the booths of cyber companies. VITAL EXPOSURE. Neither party is charging the dot-coms for the convention space, nor is there any quid pro quo. The startups are basically getting a free run. The parties estimate that only 10 startups were present in 1996, and none that focused exclusively on politics. The political cybersites are hoping that the festivities will bring enough exposure to ensure their survival come late November, after a President has been elected and some of the sizzle surrounding politics fades. These sites represent a mix of nonpartisan private ventures that aren't quite political news operations but not exactly high-tech either. They include Voter.com, Grassroots.com, Hearingroom.com, Speakout.com, Freedomchannel.com, PoliticsOnline.com, PoliticsI.com and Pseudopolitcs.com. "A lot of these political Internet companies have big hopes of what the conventions are going to do for them. They know there's going to be a weeding out process in their industry over the next six months," says Trey Rust, director of business development at PoliticsOnline.com. COURTSHIPS. A study from Media Metrix, a company that monitors Web traffic, reports that most of the political sites don't get more than 200,000 hits a month, and some are already struggling to survive, even though it is a Presidential election year. "It's likely politics are being watched by people on major news sites, rather than all-politics sites. People just aren't going to them," says Max Kalehoff, a senior manager at Media Metrix. That's why these sites will be at the convention not just to publicize their brand. Underneath the glitz and glamour, "they'll also be looking to build alliances with one another," says Karen Jagoda, founder and president of the E-voter Institute, a portal that represents companies that sells banner ads to candidates. As national candidates and political parties increasingly tap political portals to host Web sites, provide information-technology consulting, and to raise money, alliances between the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention and the virtual world are already being carved out. Voter.com and the Freedomchannel.com will be sharing print and video content with both the DNC and RNC. And Pseduopolitics.com has managed to snag a spot in the skybox at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, so it can Webcast its content onto the GOP2000.com site. LONGER SHELF LIFE. Such coveted media space has never been allotted to an Internet company before. "National and state parties have realized the potential of the Internet. These companies are pushing hard to make it into that new market, but clearly not all can," says Rust of PoliticsOnline.com. Some will survive. Luis Vizcaino, press secretary for the Democratic National Convention Committee, anticipates that political niche sites like iVillage.com, which targets women, and PoliticallyBlack.com, which focuses on African Americans, will have a shelf life that stretches beyond the Presidential elections. Both sites will be sharing content with the DNC when the party takes center stage in L.A. Which raises the question: What will the shelf life of sites that aren't lucky enough to partner with a national political party be? How many are out there is hard to say, but some estimates range to more than 250 political sites in cyberspace. "WHAT ARE WE?" Darwinism among the dot-coms isn't a new phenomenon. Many political sites began altering their business models months ago, when they discovered that it was difficult for an all-political news site to compete with larger media outlets and turn a profit. Such sites like Voter.com, Grassroots.com, and PoliticsOnline.com provide original news paid for in part by advertising. But they also offer services for a fee, such as Web consulting, data-base management, and hosting candidate Web sites. Which leaves many dot-coms wearing two hats at the political conventions -- covering the news and promoting their company. "At first, there was a lot of confusion about what we should even be called at the conventions. Are we press, are we media, what are we?" asks Kyl McSlarrow, vice-president for government affairs at Grassroots.com, an activist site that focuses on politics. Both the Republicans and Democrats have decided to treat the Internet startups as credentialed media members, and that's why the dot-coms aren't being charged anything to set up work spaces on Internet Alley and Avenue, even though they offer plenty of business services. However, like all media organizations, the e-companies must foot the bill for whatever they decide to set up within their new-age workspace. VIDEO E-MAIL. So while most of the political sites will be covering the news, they'll also be rolling out new products and schmoozing with potential clients. "You never get as many politicians and reporters concentrated in one place as you do at the conventions," says Daniel Manatt, media director of FreedomChannel.com, a site that covers Congress and national politics. "It's certainly a marketing opportunity for us." That's why FreedomChannel.com is waiting until the Republican convention to announce its new partnership with Mindarrow, which makes software that compresses digital video so it can easily be sent and viewed via e-mail. It plans to bombard politicians, journalists, and readers with thousands of video e-mails during the conventions to publicize its new technology. FreedomChannel.com certainly won't be the only site angling for the tech spotlight. Dot.coms are racing to see who can make the conventions the most interactive for at-home viewers. Speakout.com, an activism and opinion research portal, waited just days before the Republican convention to announce its new partnership with MSNBC.com, which will enable Web surfers to log onto MSNBC.com and participate in real-time polls using SpeakOut.com's new patent-pending "Ntercept Dial Poll." The service lets viewers instantaneously rate convention speakers online. Within moments after the speaker leaves the podium, MSNBC will broadcast an analysis that it claims will be more detailed than what any of network's talking heads say. "A GIMMICK." Pseudopolitics.com has another strategy for getting attention. In Philly, it plans to unveil a 360-degree Web shot of the entire convention hall and allow Web surfers to control what they look by navigating a Webcam with their mouse. A host of other political sites are introducing new radio shows that they'll broadcast live from their sites, and most, if not all, plan to have live video coverage streamed from their sites. With the major TV networks scaling back on coverage time, the all-politics sites see this as a prime moment to capture more of the political-junkie market. "Everybody is introducing their little things, like Webcams. It's a gimmick," says Ron Gunzburger, publisher of the site PoliticsI.com, which will be one of six sites hosting Pseudpolitics.com's 360-degree camera. The award for biggest convention spender among the dot-coms probably goes to Voter.com, a political portal that offers news and an array of political services, and has members of both the DNC and RNC on its advisory board. Not even a year old, Voter.com is footing the bill for more than 120 well-logoed computerized kiosks that'll be scattered throughout state delegation hotels and the convention centers in both Philly and L.A. Convention delegates can use the computers to view the day's schedules, check their e-mail, and browse for a good happy hour bar. PEP RALLY. The dot-coms will also be spending on giveaways. Grassroots.com is throwing a party at the trendy Sky Bar in Philly and sponsoring a Blues Travelers concert in L.A. And just about everyone will be generously loading delegates up with everything from logoed apparel to magnetic poetry. The political conventions have been criticized for their lack of excitement. But stay tuned, because the cyberworld is scrambling to put some pep back into what was once a popular political pastime. And who knows what the political dot-coms that actually make it to 2004 will cook up?  By Nicole St. Pierre in Washington Edited by Douglas Harbrecht  | | |
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