Writers/editors, Obama campaign, Chicago

From the application for writers ...

"Our writing team will help tell the story of the campaign over email, social media, our blog, and online ads.

"We're looking for seasoned, scrappy writers who can capture the feeling of a moment in an email that will compel people to take action or put a person's life story into a moving 300-word blog post. You should be able to write the way people talk, and to do it quickly and concisely — sometimes in 140 characters or less. Ideally, you'll also have a head for online organizing and campaigning, strong attention to detail, and experience managing complex projects.

"We'll be hiring people at all levels, from team directors to junior staffers. So whether you're a seasoned digital veteran or are new to the field but hoping to apply your skills to a worthy cause, we hope to hear from you."

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/writers-and-editors-job-application

 

In other words, no writing ability needed.

 

I did some work for Kasich's campaign in Ohio in 2010...no pay but pretty interesting to adapt your writing to what the campaign wants the message to be. It is fairly challenging, and do not expect your words to be the words that come out to the public. What I wrote went through three different people who parsed it, changed it, moved things around, added things, etc. When they were done I could barely recognize most of the stuff I wrote. They usually have way too many people with nothing to do, so they put people in charge of reviewing things...way too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

 

Well, I gave it a go. Would be a dream gig for me.

 

I'm in. Maybe they turned me down for the Twitter position they advertised last year because they were saving me for this...

 

I applied...

I sent in my speech that he'll give when he congratulates the republican winner of the 2012 election.

 

How much of this do you think is a job app vs. a way for the Obama campaign to hoard emails and contact information?

 

Win or lose, what are the odds this job will lead to something permanent? The campaign is over in November 2012 no matter what. And what about benefits?

If you are out of work, it sounds like a wonderful opportunity. But if you have a good job already, it seems mighty risky.

 

I'm laid off in August. So it works for me. Also, I don't think it ends right in November of 2012 because I believe they are 18-month positions.

 

There are more effective ways to gain email addresses than through fake job advertisements. I doubt the administration would risk something so silly becoming a controversy if uncovered by a reporter.

 

Point taken. I just thought of it when I applied for this and a day later got a fundraising email from the campaign.