 |
| Don Perata |
Not to be mean, but to be critical, Maya Dillard-Smith stood a better chance in the Oakland Mayor's Race with a real website and a good Internet strategy. She did not have one. Her only real Internet marker was a Facebook page called "Maya for Mayor." The problem with the growth of Facebook is anyone thinks that a Facebook page can do as a serious Internet marker. It can't and it doesn't.
When you do a Google search for Maya Dillard-Smith, a website that reads "Maya Dillard-Smith for Mayor of Oakland" should pop up. It doesn't because there's not one. A simple website, or a free blog on Blogger.com or Wordpress and with connected YouTube and Blip.tv video channels fed with weekly content is enough to not just have an Internet path but visibility in the Oakland Mayor's Race.
The problem is that all of the candidates don't get the Internet, and that's especially true of Don Perata, who thinks his Old Media strategy works in the 21st Century; it doesn't and he will lose the Oakland Mayor's Race because of his errors.
Google Don Perara and you find not just the good news on the first page, but the bad news: three of the first ten listings are negative and directly related to the Don Perata running for Mayor of Oakland. The second page of the search is dominated by content produced by others; nothing by Don Perata.
The point is that if you're going to run for elected office, produce Internet content about yourself. Make yourself available for video interviews and do your own. Have a blog or a few. Flood the Internet with your own content so that you control the message.
Maya Dillard-Smith for Mayor was all but invisible online. Don Perata online spells 'bad candidate.' Both are examples of why the Oakland Mayor's Race is wide open and can be snatched and won by a person with an intelligent Internet strategy.
Comments