DavidOrtez.com - Latest Comments in Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

David Ortez — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:08:32 -0000

I am glad that you found the article helpful.

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

janfry — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:38:58 -0000

Say, thanks for this interesting critique. It has been very helpful to me because I am in charge of inviting the Candidates to speak at our civic association meeting. You made it easy for me to access each Candidate's website and extend our invitation. Ms. Parker certainly deserves an A+ for her website--definitely a great model for others to follow. I like the way she addresses the issues in such a comprehensive fashion.

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

David Ortez — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:38:00 -0000

When I wrote this critique, Morales had a weak website. The website he currently has is poorly designed. I hope he did not pay for it because it is horribly designed. The person used basic Photoshop filters and gradients to make it pop.

Nonetheless, I would give him a C for effort since from looking at the site, it is still in a MAJOR work in progress.

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

Mary — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:31:14 -0000

Morales does not have a weak site...I actually think it is quite good.

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

David Ortez — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:57:25 -0000

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comments. I concur with you in your analyzes about the effectiveness of a campaign strategy outside of the traditional grass roots movement. We can both agree that the best strategy is one that attempts to reach out to as many potential voters as possible.

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

EastwoodJohn — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:05:44 -0000

Thanks for taking the time to do this, I think it's a really well thought out analysis.

One quibble: a missing element of the analysis, and where I think any such analysis needs to start, is a look at voter demographics. Your comments are spot-on regarding the usefulness of the candidates' online activities in reaching a particular segment of voters. An important question: how much of the likely voting population is this?

i think they'd all do well to think about the issues you raise here, but local politics have somewhat different dynamics than national races: they are much more up close and personal. So, if you were an advisor to a candidate then you'd also have to say, "... and here's the group you can reach more effectively online, here's how many of them there are, and here's their likelihood of voting." Which drives some really important decisions about how much effort to put into online vs traditional media vs door-knocking. (Door knocking is important. In fact, in the recent District H election, there were a couple of candidates I liked... I voted for the one who showed up at my door one afternoon and stood and talked to me about some of the neighborhood issues that concern me. In local races that stuff is so very important.)

(and yeah - I know that's beyond the scope of what you set out to do here!)

Thanks again for doing this.

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

David Ortez — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:10:35 -0000

Thanks for taking the time to offer your perspective. The reason why I speculate that Locke may challenge Parker is because he will be implementing a mobile, social media campaign. This does not mean that his campaign will win ... just that he will be able to engage with voters more effectively. But, hey I could be wrong. Maybe you have more insight than I would

Re: Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

David — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:54:10 -0000

I think that Anise Parker's website is well thought out and she makes it more than easy to effectively navigate. I agree with your grading whole-heartedly! Now I don't exactly agree with you in saying Locke will eventually overpower her online presence though. I feel that as time goes by Parker will grow her base and I am sure she has a few tricks up her sleeve to beef up her online presence and I am sure as she herself read your article that she (being a very practical woman able to take constructive criticism) will take into consideration the things you marked her down for.