In five years, MoveOn.Org has become one of the largest and most effective advocacy organizations in the world, with more than two million members and a unique bottom-up style that allows the members to set the organization''s priorities.
MoveOn says it is working to bring ordinary people back into politics.
Wes Boyd is the co-founder of MoveOn.org, a political action web site dedicated to finding and promoting common-ground solutions to public policy issues. Going beyond "virtual" action, moveon.org organized events in 219 congressional offices in 44 states on October 29, 2004, and a get-out-the-vote drive that reached 4 million people on the day before the presidential election that year.
"Often I think people get into politics because they have something to say and want people to listen and they are looking for a bigger soapbox so they can say it louder. And that''s the game," Boyd told a Digital Democracy Teach-in in San Diego, Calif., in Feb. 2004, adding: "We came to this not at all because we had something to say, but because we were frustrated and we felt there were a lot of smart people out there who were not being heard, and let''s get together and get connected a be heard, for gosh sakes."
BELOW FROM:
http://siyaset.bilkent.edu.tr/Harvard/boyd.htm
Wes Boyd is a software industry veteran, having founded a leading entertainment software company, Berkeley Systems. Berkeley Systems is best known for Flying Toaster screen savers, and You Don''t Know Jack, an online game show. He is also the co-founder of Cavort Learning Systems, an Internet education startup.
In the 1980s, prior to his work in consumer software, Mr. Boyd authored software for blind and visually impaired users allowing full access to Macintosh computers, for which he received the ComputerWorld-Smithsonian award for technical innovation. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Boyd served at the University of California as a senior staff programmer on research projects.
BELOW FROM:
http://www.be-in.com/12/bio_blades.html
Joan Blades is the co-founder of MoveOn.org, a political action web site dedicated to promoting broad public participation in political discourse. During its anti-impeachment campaign, MoveOn.org garnered 500,000 online supporters, 8000 active volunteers, and generated more than 2 million communications to Congress.
Going beyond "virtual" action, MoveOn.org organized hundreds of local events across the nation and a get-out-the-vote drive that reached 4 million people on the day before the 1998 election. Through MoveOn.org, citizens contributed more than $2 million to year 2000 congressional candidates.
Following the election has helped members be heard on the issues of campaign finance reform, environmental protection and tax reform.
Ms. Blades is a software industry veteran, having co-founded a leading entertainment software company, Berkeley Systems. Berkeley Systems is best known for Flying Toaster screen savers, and You Don''t Know Jack, an online game show.
Prior to her work in consumer software, Ms. Blades taught mediation at Golden Gate Law School, wrote a book on Divorce Mediation published by Prentice Hall, and practiced mediation.
Boyd and Blades are married.