The first two weeks
Writings, videos, etc.by the group or individual members from the early days. Partial listing; more to come. Emails to the group have been saved in archive form but we have not yet worked out a way to put them online while still respecting members' privacy.
- Please Don't ... Senator, Mardi, in No You Can't ... Have Immunity on my.barackobama.com, June 26. Also posted in the newly-created "Senator Obama -- Please Vote No On FISA" group
- Will Obama feel the sting of social networking?,Mike Stark, Open Left (also in the Huffington Post), June 27
- An Open Letter To Senator Obama: Please Vote NO On Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right, June 29, collaboratively authored,Reality Catcherand many other locations. The version on Reality Catcher hit digg's most popular and then front page.
- The first thing to do: set up a wiki, Jon Pincus,Liminal States,July 1
- Get FISA Right Group at 7292, unsigned,Obama Letdown Watch,July 1
- Surveillance Protest Group Tops Obama Website, Ari Melber, The Nation's Campaign Matters, July 1
- Anti-Telecom Immunity Group Tops MyBarackObama.com,Nancy Scola, TechPresident, July 2
- The FISA Protest and myBO: Can We Talk? Can They Listen?, Micah L. Sifry, Personal Democracy Forum, July 3
- comments inResponse from Barack on FISA and Discussion with Policy Staff, posted by Joe Rospars, my.barackobama.com community forums. Three policy experts from the campaign scheduled a 30 minute period for discussion with group members after Barack issued a statement, cross-posted at the Huffington Post; they stayed for 90 minutes and over 600 comments.
- Netroots Activists Mad at Obama for Spy Bill Flip-Flop Sarah Lai Stirland, Threat Level on Wired.com, July 7
- Online Activists Keep the Pressure on Obama, Ari Melber, The Nation(also in The Huffington Post), July 7
- What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Tuesday Daniel Ellsberg (interviewed by Tim Ferris), antiwar.com, July 8
- Get FISA Right: Nomadic Democracy, Carlo Scannella, techPresident,July 8, Still on the most-emailed list a week later.
- Unsatisfied, FISA Group Delivers Protest Letter to Obama Headquarters. Dawn Teo, The Huffington Post, July 8
- A Facebook Night Of Action, Jon Pincus,OpenLeft,July 8; cross-posted on Liminal States.
- Online Activists Keep the Pressure on Obama Ari Melber, The Nation; July 9; also posted on Alternet
- FISA, Obama, and the Internet People, danah boyd, apophenia,July 9
- the official debate thread, collaboratively authored,Senator Obama -- Please Say NO to Telecom Immunity and Get FISA RightFacebook group, July 9. [Facebook registration required to view.]
After the vote
- Strategy and Priorities, version 27, uncredited, the get-fisa-right.wetpaint.com wiki, last edited July 12. A retrospective on the strategy of the early days.
- Statistics, version 78, uncredited, get-fisa-right.wetpaint.com, last edited July 15. Subpages include more detailed statistics on the first week, and participation rates on the email list.
- A rebirth of freedom (?), Chip Pitts, GFR organization group phone call, July 15; transcript in progress.
- Community blog on my.barackobama.com, collaboratively authored by the Get FISA Right group, June 26 - present
This revolution *will* be advertised
- Don't let our Constitution Die ad (and discussion), collaboratively authored, the get-fisa-right.wetpaint.com wiki, thegetfisaright.com discussion forums, chat, and email, July 14-16; video and production work by SaysMe.tv, July 17-19.
- Opposed to Wiretap Amensty? Run a TV Ad for Six Bucks, Sarah Lai Stirland, Wired - Threat Level, July 28
- Today In Your Surveillance State, David Dayen,d-day, August 1
- Towards a rebirth of freedom: activism on social networks, part 1, Jon Pincus, Pam's House Blend, August 3
- Frustrated with TV Ads? Run Your Own for $6, Ryan Kaufman, Open Left, also on The Huffington Post, August 7
- Reflecting on the Platform Draft - Get FISA Right, Ronit Aviva Dancis, Huffington Post, August 11
- Liberals Storm GOP Hotels in St. Paul, Ari Melber, Washington Independent, September 2
Now what?
Background
- FISA, A Brief History, Deborah Pierce, posted (with permission) by Jon Pincus on OpenLeft, July 7.
- A group is Its own worst enemy, Clay Shirky, 2003. The essay talks about the challenges of building large-scale social software systems; and although we don't think of it that way, that's exactly what we've stitching together out of my.barackobama.com, email, a wiki, a google group, discussion boards, Facebook, and duct tape. The experiences Shirky describes are incredibly relevant; and the "three things you need to accept" and "four things to design for" are important for looking forward. Jon Pincus' Get FISA Right: Paging Clay Shirky, on Liminal States, relates this essay and Shirky's Group as User: Flaming and the Design of Social Software to Get FISA Right.
- The Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Technology Policy '08 Conference, May 21-25, contains a wealth of materials, including discussions on FISA in the opening plenary, a closing keynote by Clay Shirky. Jon Pincus and Ben Masel presented at, and several other Get FISA Right members attended, a Workshop onActivism and Education Using Social Networks which several members participated in. Resource pages such as Facebook and examples of activism on social networks give a snapshot of the state of the art at the time; Designing social netwroking tools for activism sketches a path forward. Pincus also led Dear POTUS '08,an open letter to the next President of the United States collaboratively written on a wiki.
- Facebook Becomes Catalyst for Causes, Colombian FARC Protest by Jennifer Woodard Maderazo discusses Facebook's role in the 100-city, multi-million person worldwide rallies against FARC in February. To date, activists have used social networks far more effectively internationally than in the US.