March Release 2007: Protecting Voting Rights One Text at a Time
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2007
MEDIA CONTACT: Kathie Legg,
kathielegg@mobilemonday.net;
Julie Barko Germany,
juliegermany@mobilemonday.net;
PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS ONE TEXT AT A TIME
A CASE STUDY ON HOW WORKING ASSETS USED TEXT MESSAGING TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY
March 19
EVENT: Mobile Monday DC (http://www.mobilemonday-dc.com/), the local chapter of a global movement of technology professionals, announces its March event, "Protecting Voting Rights One Text at a Time," a case study on how Working Assets used text messaging in the last election cycle.
WHEN: Monday, March 19, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Science Club DC
1136 19th Street NW Washington DC 20036
Farragut West Metro (Orange and Blue Lines), and Farragut North Metro or Dupont Circle Metro (Red Line)
COST: The event is free to the public. Members of the media are welcome to attend the event. Food and drink will be brought to you by Working Assets
SPEAKERS: Becky Bond and Dan Droller from Working Assets and Jed Alpert from the Rights-Group.
BACKGROUND:
Voting protection and integrity have come into question in past elections. We will never forget Florida in 2000 and the hanging chads debate. Working Assets took steps to protect voters from the same type of fiasco in 2006 through its Protect the Election initiative.
Working Assets asked volunteers to sign up to receive text messages on Election Day if an urgent issue arose in their geographical area. Volunteers were then prompted to take an action, such as a phone call.
About MobileMonday
MobileMonday is a community of mobile professionals founded in 2000. The open community promotes the mobile industry and fosters cooperation and networking among industry people and their companies by providing opportunities for personal and virtual contacts.
Mobile Monday DC exposes Beltway-area professionals to new innovations in mobile technology, and it gives opportunities for political, government, technology, corporate, and non-profit professionals to meet each other and share ideas. While Mobile Monday DC is not exclusively devoted to politics, many events will introduce new ideas and tools that can be adapted by political professionals in Washington, DC, including those in the public policy, advocacy, non-profit, lobbying, and campaign communities.
For more information on the global Mobile Monday movement, visit www.mobilemonday.net.
For more information about the local Mobile Monday DC chapter, visit http://www.mobilemonday-dc.com/.
-MMDC-
MoMoDC Event - March 19
Protecting Voting Rights One Text at a Time
Voting protection and integrity have come into question in past elections. We will never forget Florida in 2000 and the hanging chads debate. Working Assets took steps to protect voters from the same type of fiasco in 2006 through its Protect the Election initiative.
Working Assets asked volunteers to sign up to receive text messages on Election Day if an urgent issue arose in their geographical area. Volunteers were then prompted to take an action, such as a phone call.
EVENT: "Protecting Voting Rights One Text at a Time," a case study on how Working Assets used text messaging in the last election cycle.
WHEN: Monday, March 19, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Science Club DC
1136 19th Street NW Washington DC 20036
Farragut West Metro (Orange and Blue Lines), and Farragut North Metro or Dupont Circle Metro (Red Line)
COST: The event is free to the public. Members of the media are welcome to attend the event. Food and drink will be brought to you by Working Assets and the Science Club.
SPEAKERS: Becky Bond and Dan Droller from Working Assets and Jed Alpert from the Rights-Group.
RSVP: So we can have an idea on headcount, please RSVP: http://www.mobilemonday.net/mm/washingtondc/
SPONSOR: The first round of drinks is on the Science Club, our gracious host and food and drinks after that by Working Assets.
__________
About Beck Bond
Becky Bond is creative producer at Working Assets, a powerful citizen
action group and progressive mobile phone company that has raised over
$50 million for progressive causes since 1985. In 2006, she helped
launch Working Assets Mobile Action which enabled thousands of concerned
citizens to volunteer to protect the election using their mobile phones.
Becky leads Working Assets' nonpartisan civic engagement efforts and
online activism programs including a successful effort to register 1
million voters before the 2004 election and an online voter registration
program that has helped almost 500,000 people complete voter
registration forms via the Web since 2003. Becky has also launched
several media properties for Working Assets including a daily public
radio program and the progressive news site, WorkingForChange.com.
Dan Droller
Dan Droller manages mobile phone content for Working Assets, a
progressive mobile phone company that has raised over $50 million for
progressive causes since 1985. In addition to running the Working Assets
Mobile Action program, where citizens can use text messaging to effect
social change, Dan created the Working Assets Wireless ringtone store,
manages the home deck for all Working Assets Wireless phones, and helps
faciliate text programs for various non-profits partners. He is also the
co-founder of Music for America, a cultural organizing group founded in
the 2004 election to get young people involved in politics through
music. In addition to co-running MFA, he directed the music department
which held over 4000 concerts with over 300 artists over 3 years.
__________
See you there!
-Kathie
MoMoDC Event - March 19
Protecting Voting Rights One Text at a Time
Voting protection and integrity have come into question in past elections. We will never forget Florida in 2000 and the hanging chads debate. Working Assets took steps to protect voters from the same type of fiasco in 2006 through its Protect the Election initiative.
Working Assets asked volunteers to sign up to receive text messages on Election Day if an urgent issue arose in their geographical area. Volunteers were then prompted to take an action, such as a phone call.
EVENT: "Protecting Voting Rights One Text at a Time," a case study on how Working Assets used text messaging in the last election cycle.
WHEN: Monday, March 19, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Science Club DC
1136 19th Street NW Washington DC 20036
Farragut West Metro (Orange and Blue Lines), and Farragut North Metro or Dupont Circle Metro (Red Line)
COST: The event is free to the public. Members of the media are welcome to attend the event. Food and drink will be brought to you by Working Assets and the Science Club.
SPEAKERS: Becky Bond and Dan Droller from Working Assets and Jed Alpert from the Rights-Group.
RSVP: So we can have an idea on headcount, please RSVP: http://www.mobilemonday.net/mm/washingtondc/
SPONSOR: The first round of drinks is on the Science Club, our gracious host and food and drinks after that by Working Assets.
__________
About Beck Bond
Becky Bond is creative producer at Working Assets, a powerful citizen
action group and progressive mobile phone company that has raised over
$50 million for progressive causes since 1985. In 2006, she helped
launch Working Assets Mobile Action which enabled thousands of concerned
citizens to volunteer to protect the election using their mobile phones.
Becky leads Working Assets' nonpartisan civic engagement efforts and
online activism programs including a successful effort to register 1
million voters before the 2004 election and an online voter registration
program that has helped almost 500,000 people complete voter
registration forms via the Web since 2003. Becky has also launched
several media properties for Working Assets including a daily public
radio program and the progressive news site, WorkingForChange.com.
Dan Droller
Dan Droller manages mobile phone content for Working Assets, a
progressive mobile phone company that has raised over $50 million for
progressive causes since 1985. In addition to running the Working Assets
Mobile Action program, where citizens can use text messaging to effect
social change, Dan created the Working Assets Wireless ringtone store,
manages the home deck for all Working Assets Wireless phones, and helps
faciliate text programs for various non-profits partners. He is also the
co-founder of Music for America, a cultural organizing group founded in
the 2004 election to get young people involved in politics through
music. In addition to co-running MFA, he directed the music department
which held over 4000 concerts with over 300 artists over 3 years.
__________
See you there!
-Kathie
MoMoDC - Feb 26 at the Science Club
Breaking Down the Walled Garden
Believe it or not, network neutrality doesn't just affect your Internet connection. It can also affect your cell phone. As is often the case for any policy debate, there are two sides to every story:
Customers: It is frustrating for customers when they see a new phone, like the iPhone, but they are unable to purchase them because it is not supported on their carrier. They must either switch carriers or buy a different phone.
Networks: After spending millions and millions of dollars building their network, is it fair to force a carrier to open itself up to phones it does not support and that may compromise its network?
Join the debate and hear what the experts have to say this month at MobileMonday DC. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of opening up wireless networks and making them neutral.
EVENT: Mobile Monday DC (http://www.mobilemonday-dc.com/), the local chapter of a global movement of technology professionals, announces its February event, "Breaking Down the Walled Garden" on the pros and cons of Wireless Network Neutrality.
WHEN: Monday, February 26, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Science Club DC
1136 19th Street NW Washington DC 20036
Farragut West Metro (Orange and Blue Lines), and Farragut North Metro or Dupont Circle Metro (Red Line)
COST: The event is free to the public. Members of the media are welcome to attend the event.
SPEAKERS: Mike Altschul, CTIA
and Alex Curtis, Public Knowledge
RSVP: So we can have an idea on headcount, please RSVP: http://www.mobilemonday.net/mm/washingtondc/
SPONSOR: The first round of drinks is on the Science Club, our gracious host. (and just a little interesting fact about them... they have Wifi, so feel free to bring your Macs, PCs, or WiFi cabable phones).
__________
About Michael Altschul
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, CTIA
Altschul joined CTIA in 1990 after serving with the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice. Prior to that, he began his legal career as an attorney specializing in antitrust litigation with Simpson Thacher Bartlett in New York City.
As CTIA's General Counsel, Altschul is responsible for the Association's legal advocacy, CTIA's compliance with antitrust and other applicable laws, and he is an active participant in the development of the Association's public policy positions.
About Alex Curtis
Director of Policy and New Media for Public Knowledge
Alex Curtis is Director of Policy and New Media for Public Knowledge (aka PK), a Washington, DC based public interest organization that works on behalf of consumers and innovators at the intersection of copyright, telecommunications, and information policy. Before finding PK, Alex worked on Capitol Hill for United States Senators Mike DeWine and George V. Voinovich -- making DeWine the second U.S. Senator on the Internet by one day. He worked on legislative issues such as Broadband, Digital Online Music, and Open Access to cable networks, while at the Antitrust Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Alex graduated from Wake Forest University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctorate in 2001 from the University of Akron School of Law, where he focused on intellectual property.
The policy issues that PK is currently working on in telecommunications include net neutrality, repurposing of spectrum "white-spaces" for licensed and unlicensed use, and promoting broadband deployment. PK's intends to promote a positive copyright agenda in the 110th Congress, focusing on at least two key issues: orphan works and fair use limitations on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
