New election web site free for voters... Minnesota Public Radio
Posted: Friday, June 25, 2010 by evoternews [Source]
...politicians get a profile page that's a bit like a Facebook page. It includes a candidate statement, a list of endorsements, video links and other information. The eVoter page for Illinois senate candidate Mark Kirk shows what the page looks like...
The company is trying hard to stay above the political fray -- even as it tries to turn candidates into customers.
"We are totally non-partisan, totally unbiased," Kravitz said.
Does a candidate who pays for a profile page get better treatment on eVoter? Kravitz said candidates can spread their message via eVoter, but that no one gets preferential treatment.
"Everyone pays the same amount," he said. "You can't buy better placement on our site. There's absolutely no editorial control on our part."
Kravitz described eVoter as a content platform for candidates, one that justifies the firm's fee. He said eVoter will buy Google ads and optimize its pages to attract voters to the site and candidates' pages. Even though eVoter just launched in Minnesota, the site already does well in Google searches. Example: eVoter is the No. 1 result for the search "St. Cloud polling places."
Another twist on the business model is eVoter's partnerships with media companies. In California and Illinois, eVoter has cut deals with TV stations and newspapers, including the Chicago Sun-Times and TV stations owned by NBC Universal.
In essence, the media outlets partnering with eVoter have outsourced their voters guides. Instead of paying to produce time-consuming election materials for print or online, the newspapers and TV stations are earning revenue through eVoter.
The deal works like this: a TV station or newspaper places an eVoter box on its web site. The media outlet gets paid every time someone clicks through to eVoter. The media outlet also gets half the fee if a candidate clicks through to eVoter and buys a profile page.
Does the arrangement create a conflict for the newspapers and TV stations? Not surprisingly, Kravitz says, 'No.' He says the key is that all candidates get equal opportunity to create pages and that media outlets don't control the content.
The idea of giving voters customized access to election information isn't new. In Minnesota, the Secretary of State offers a service to find polling places by address. Many counties offer the same information.
But eVoter's interface is slick and very easy to use. And if it catches on, many candidates may feel compelled to add eVoter to their list of expenses.
via New election web site free for voters, not candidates | Statewide | Minnesota Public Radio.
About eVoter
eVoter (www.evoter.com) is the unbiased, non-partisan website where voters can instantly generate a personalized sample ballot, view candidate profiles, make contributions, view organizational endorsements, find polling places, request absentee ballot applications, and more. Owned and operated by Florida-based Political Technologies LLC, eVoter is designed with the goal of providing voters with concise, unbiased information on every candidate and measure on their ballot.
For eVoter news: eVoterNews.wordpress.com
For election information visit: www.evoter.com/MN
For press information visit: www.evoter.com/Press
For more about eVoter: www.evoter.com/About
Follow eVoter on Facebook: www.facebook.com/evoterMinnesota
Follow eVoter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/eVoterUpdates
Follow eVoter on Youtube: www.youtube.com/eVoterVideos
The company is trying hard to stay above the political fray -- even as it tries to turn candidates into customers.
"We are totally non-partisan, totally unbiased," Kravitz said.
Does a candidate who pays for a profile page get better treatment on eVoter? Kravitz said candidates can spread their message via eVoter, but that no one gets preferential treatment.
"Everyone pays the same amount," he said. "You can't buy better placement on our site. There's absolutely no editorial control on our part."
Kravitz described eVoter as a content platform for candidates, one that justifies the firm's fee. He said eVoter will buy Google ads and optimize its pages to attract voters to the site and candidates' pages. Even though eVoter just launched in Minnesota, the site already does well in Google searches. Example: eVoter is the No. 1 result for the search "St. Cloud polling places."
Another twist on the business model is eVoter's partnerships with media companies. In California and Illinois, eVoter has cut deals with TV stations and newspapers, including the Chicago Sun-Times and TV stations owned by NBC Universal.
In essence, the media outlets partnering with eVoter have outsourced their voters guides. Instead of paying to produce time-consuming election materials for print or online, the newspapers and TV stations are earning revenue through eVoter.
The deal works like this: a TV station or newspaper places an eVoter box on its web site. The media outlet gets paid every time someone clicks through to eVoter. The media outlet also gets half the fee if a candidate clicks through to eVoter and buys a profile page.
Does the arrangement create a conflict for the newspapers and TV stations? Not surprisingly, Kravitz says, 'No.' He says the key is that all candidates get equal opportunity to create pages and that media outlets don't control the content.
The idea of giving voters customized access to election information isn't new. In Minnesota, the Secretary of State offers a service to find polling places by address. Many counties offer the same information.
But eVoter's interface is slick and very easy to use. And if it catches on, many candidates may feel compelled to add eVoter to their list of expenses.
via New election web site free for voters, not candidates | Statewide | Minnesota Public Radio.
About eVoter
eVoter (www.evoter.com) is the unbiased, non-partisan website where voters can instantly generate a personalized sample ballot, view candidate profiles, make contributions, view organizational endorsements, find polling places, request absentee ballot applications, and more. Owned and operated by Florida-based Political Technologies LLC, eVoter is designed with the goal of providing voters with concise, unbiased information on every candidate and measure on their ballot.
For eVoter news: eVoterNews.wordpress.com
For election information visit: www.evoter.com/MN
For press information visit: www.evoter.com/Press
For more about eVoter: www.evoter.com/About
Follow eVoter on Facebook: www.facebook.com/evoterMinnesota
Follow eVoter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/eVoterUpdates
Follow eVoter on Youtube: www.youtube.com/eVoterVideos
