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The Other Election Day
By Chris Linnett | November 6, 2007
Today is Election Day. The Other Election Day really—when periodically we as citizens gather to exercise our right to vote for governors, mayors, city councils, propositions, initiatives, referendums, etc. While we peruse the positioning statements of local candidates today, we will all continue to cast votes tomorrow and the next day.
Election fraud? No. Just daily local votes: Where to buy a morning cup of coffee and pick up a local paper? Where to take the car for service? Where to eat lunch, get a haircut, rent a movie?
We literally vote each day with our pocketbooks. On this day, political winners throw parties and losers give concession speeches, but every day, businesses win and lose at the whim of the voters. Upstarts try to unseat incumbents. Incumbents try to flex their leadership muscle.
How do we know who to vote for? Signs, TV ads, Web sites, direct mail, and other media direct well crafted messaging toward us and our vote. The political campaigns will end today, but the marketing campaigns will wage on. With the advancements in local search sites, there is now as much useful information available about where to buy a bagel, as who to send to the Senate. This helps us make better decisions every day.
And the power of voting with our pocketbook is even stronger if we can also let others know about our decisions. Most local sites support this. Letting us rate and review businesses encourages the free exchange of opinions and differing viewpoints. We can stump for our favorite establishments and debate the merits of others. Online democracy is not limited to campaign sites; your neighbors are gathering at sites like Open List, Yahoo Local, Yelp, and others.
Go vote - today and tomorrow.
Topics: Community, Local Search |