Engine @DNC Day 4: Innovation Working for America

If we’re dragging our feet a little after day three of the Democratic convention, we’re not alone. The nominating conventions have been jam packed with great panels, networking events, and opportunities to educate policymakers and convention goers alike about startup issues that will be impacting America’s economy for the next four years.

Yesterday, we kicked off with a breakfast with the Vermont delegation to the convention, as well as special guests Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. We look forward to working with Senator Leahy and the Senate Judiciary Committee on innovation issues after the November elections.

A Huffington Post lunch panel “What is Working” focused on how America can harness innovation to solve national economic and socio-economic challenges. We also attended the “What is Working” panel at the Republican Convention in Tampa with different panelists, and it was refreshing to hear viewpoints about innovation across the political spectrum. Hosted by Arianna Huffington and Tom Brokaw, yesterday’s panel included Julian Castro, the San Antonio Mayor who impressed delegates with his keynote speech Tuesday night and artist will.i.am, who talked about his collaboration with NASA and his commitment to bringing STEM education and entrepreneurial opportunity to all Americans.

At CEA’s Innovation Nation event, we spent time chatting to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon about the innovation economy. We then joined our friends from Tumblr to watch the speeches. Former President Bill Clinton highlighted the vital need for innovation and skilled labor to the future of the U.S. economy.

Clinton said, “There are already three million jobs open and unfilled in America mostly because the people who apply for them don’t yet have the required skills … the old economy is not coming back, we’ve got to build a new one.”

We’re excited today to keep spreading the word about the issues policymakers should focus on to keep entrepreneurs and the internet economy flourishing before the conventions close. We look forward to continuing to work with both parties into the next Congress on issues vital to the future of our economy.

Engine @DNC Day 3: Education Takes Center Stage

A rainy Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention saw speeches from candidates, elected officials, and celebrities with a particular focus on the importance of education to the economy. Engine has pursued greater support for education in the United States and the speeches last night in Charlotte drove home the importance of this resource to American ingenuity.

Keynote speaker Julian Castro, mayor of San Antonio, put a sharp point on the issue, saying “you can’t be pro-business if you’re not pro-education.” First Lady Michelle Obama, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and actor and former White House liaison Kal Penn each made calls for continued support and reform of the education system from pre-K to Pell Grants.

Our recent work with the Bay Area Council Economic Institute highlights the critical role technology jobs play across the country. We can’t continue to fill these jobs without qualified workers graduating from U.S. schools. The strength of our economy is dependent on the quality of the students we graduate, particularly in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

Engine is excited to hear more about plans to boost education and will be continuing our conversation with elected officials and delegates throughout the convention season. Stay tuned here for updates from Charlotte and don’t forget to look through our primer on issues that matter to startups. 

Engine @DNC Day 2: Social Media and Startups in Charlotte

Today marks the first full day of the second leg of the party nominating conventions. Last week, Engine traveled to Tampa, Florida, speaking with policymakers and delegates from the Republican Party about issues that impact startups. This week, we’re excited to be in Charlotte, North Carolina, soaking up the sun and engaging with policymakers and delegates from the Democratic Party.

Just as in Tampa, we have a packed schedule, meeting with decision-makers and convention-goers alike to discuss the issues facing startups in America this election season, into the next Congress, and beyond. Yesterday we attended a panel discussing the role of social media technology in the political process, hosted by Major Garrett of the National Journal and Garance Franke-Ruta, with the Obama Administration’s Chief Digital Strategist Joe Rospars, as well as panelists from Google, Facebook, and Twitter. From those monitoring the buzz around key political events, we heard that social media is having a major impact in terms of political engagement and that its impact is considerably higher than it was just four years ago.

We’re excited to be partnering with StartUp RockOn, a group promoting entrepreneurialism in both Tampa and Charlotte for the conventions. Last night we co-sponsored an event with the StartUp Rockon team, and we’ll be seeing them again during the convention for a series of panels and other sessions.

Engine will be promoting sound policy on the issues that count for entrepreneurs and innovators. We’ll be passing around a primer on these issues and others that affect startups, and talking to policymakers about how they can help set an agenda that will impact the growth of the U.S. economy and our continued ability to compete globally. As we head into the fall campaign, we’re looking forward to discussing these and other issues for startups in greater depth, working to improve entrepreneurs’ standing as the leaders of the economy.

Engine @RNC Day 5: Rice on Innovation, Onward to Charlotte

Engine leaves Tampa today after making our first trip to a party nominating convention. We’ve worked to raise the profile of startups and the issues that confront them at the convention through a primer on startup issues and a data visualization highlighting the role of tech across the country. Engine wasn’t alone in talking about technology at the conventions; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the case for high skilled immigration in her speech Wednesday night.

“They have come here from the world's most impoverished nations just to make a decent wage. And they have come here from advanced societies as engineers and scientists that fuel the knowledge-based revolution in the Silicon Valley of California, in the Research Triangle of North Carolina, along Route 128 in Massachusetts, in Austin, Texas, and across this great land,” said the Stanford University professor.

Dr. Rice is exactly right about the importance of immigrants to this “knowledge-based” economy, but what she may not know is just how many places are home to these technology industry jobs. Engine has created a data visualization to demonstrate the importance of technology to communities around the country. This includes the innovation hubs she mentioned, but also areas not usually thought of as “high tech” in states like Colorado, New Mexico, and Minnesota.

As we head north to Charlotte and the Democratic Convention, we will continue to talk about the issues that are impacting technology startups across the country -- from skilled immigration, to STEM education, to broadband and spectrum, to patent and financial regulation. We hope to see some of you there. Stay tuned!

Engine @RNC Day 4: Startups Making a Splash in Tampa

What a week. Speeches! Panels! Data Visualizations! Engine is making the most of our first party nominating convention tour in the southeastern United States and it’s been a pleasure spending time with Republican policymakers and delegates talking about issues that matter to startups.

Throughout the week, Startup RockOn, a group showcasing and promoting startups, hosted a series of panels and events on topics including innovation in digital media, government and startups, and female founders. The Startup America Partnership joined on many of these events. Startup America also worked with The Huffington Post to host a lunch on job creation that particularly highlighted the role of startups. The lunch was followed by a startup expo allowing entrepreneurs to connect with delegates and the media.

Engine has been participating at each of these events in addition to highlighting our data visualization of tech jobs at an event co-hosted by Google and Bloomberg. Startups are central to the dialogue on the economy at the RNC and we plan to keep that dialogue moving forward in Charlotte.

Don’t forget to check out our primer on the issues impacting startups, and keep this dialogue moving in your community as well.

Engine @RNC Day 2: Tech Matters

The sun has finally broken through Isaac’s clouds here in Tampa as Day 2, and the real action of the Republican National Convention, gets underway. The Engine team and a few of our members are coming together here in Florida for a full day of meetings and events with political leaders from across the country.

Yesterday was a relatively quiet day here in Tampa, with the Convention being called to order, and less than two minutes later gaveled to a close, by RNC Chair Reince Priebus. A few events did remain on the schedule outside the convention hall, however, with technology issues at the forefront of many of them. In the morning, our team attended a briefing in Tampa’s historic Ybor City neighborhood on social media and how it is changing politics in this election year, with the National Journal’s Major Garrett, Atlantic Magazine’s Garance Franke-Ruta and CBS News’ former White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell. Their guests, which ranged from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to Governor Romney’s digital director Zac Moffatt and others, all sounded notes of optimism on the use of new technologies and their impact on the process.

Gov. Snyder, dubbed “Governor Hangout” by his constituents for his use of Google’s video technology to hold town hall meetings around the state, talked about his engagement strategy with voters and how his office uses technology to provide “top-notch customer service” to Michiganders. You can hear more about his strategies by following him on Twitter, @onetoughnerd.

Today is a day packed full of great events in and around the convention hall here in Florida, with Ann Romney and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie taking to the podium among many others. Keep up with what we’re doing by following us on Twitter with more exciting news to come.

Engine @RNC Day 1: Learn the Issues

Today, Engine launches its inaugural trip to the party nominating conventions to promote the cause of startups and entrepreneurs to policymakers and delegates in Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina. Our first priority: Highlighting the issues that matter to small businesses, technology startups, and entrepreneurs.

We chose to highlight eight issues that are shaping the startup space, connecting with entrepreneurs to provide insight into how these issues impact their businesses. Our goal is to give convention-goers and decision makers from both parties perspective on some of the biggest issues Congress will have to weigh after the votes are cast.

Check out “Our Internet, Our Economy: Issues Impacting America’s Startups” here and visit engine.is throughout convention season for our updates on the ground at the conventions.

Rep. Hoyer Visits Engine to Talk Policy, Engage with Entrepreneurs

Today Engine hosted Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a member of the House Democratic leadership, at a lunchtime roundtable with members of the startup community. The meetup was part of a series of events hosted by Engine at the Hattery offices in SOMA to promote dialogue about policy issues that are impacting startups across the country.

While in the Valley, Rep. Hoyer is visiting large tech companies like Cisco, Google, and Facebook as well as startups and entrepreneurs. The conversation touched on a variety of issues affecting the community, including skilled immigration, STEM education, and broadband access for rural Americans. The group also discussed issues important to the health of our economy and the U.S. as a whole.

Engine member and healthcare startup Morpheus took the opportunity to demo their product for

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the congressman, which gives cardiologists a non-invasive, 3D view of the human heart -- a piece of technology created by foreign-born, U.S.-educated entrepreneurs.

Engine will continue to keep you posted about opportunities to engage with policymakers as they meet with members of the startup community.

Engine Heading to GOP, Dem Conventions

Over the next few weeks, Engine will embark on a trip to the party nominating conventions in Tampa and Charlotte. We’ll hear President Obama and Governor Romney speaking about the agenda for our country for the coming four years. And alongside some of our leading entrepreneurial members, we’ll be meeting with leaders and policymakers from both parties -- talking with them about the role startups play in growth in the economy, and how we can work together in the next Congress and beyond to craft better legislation and regulation in this arena.

We’ll be working alongside our friends at Startup America, the Consumer Electronics Association, Google, and many other companies and interests to provide a view into the startup community at a number of events at both the RNC and DNC. We’ll also be releasing resources for candidates and advocates at both conventions, which we’ll pass along here as well.

If you’re attending, make sure to keep an eye out for us, and if you’re not braving the convention heat, we’ll be updating here and on Twitter and Facebook with updates from the excitement in both cities.

Image courtesy of clmclarty

New Democrat Coalition Members Visit Engine Advocacy

Engine hosted representatives Ron Kind of Wisconsin and John Carney of Delaware today in a roundtable on issues impacting startups. Carney, a recent addition to Congress in 2011, serves on the House Financial Services Committee while Kind, who has served since 1997, sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. These congressional bodies set budgetary, tax, and financial policy in the United States.

The congressmen are members of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate democratic legislators. Engine discussed issues including patent, financial regulation, skilled immigration, education, and broadband and spectrum. The meeting brought together entrepreneurs from a variety of Bay Area startups as well as Engine’s steering committee members including Techdirt’s Mike Masnick, Marvin Ammori of The Ammori Group, and Luis Arbulu who serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The event underscored the need for Congress to address “no-brainer” policies that will boost small business, entrepreneurship, and startups. Engine is committed to continuing to connect entrepreneurs and policymakers on the issues that will shape the future of our economy.

Uber at Startup Day

Uber Technologies, a San Francisco based technology startup, is innovating at the intersection of mobile technology, transportation and logistics. Uber connects people who want a convenient and classy ride with professional sedan car drivers who are available to provide it. Uber allows users to dispatch, track, and pay for rides given by licensed for-hire vehicles in more than 12 cities, from their mobile phone. Our service works with iPhone, Android, via the web and with any SMS capable device.

What impact does Uber have on your community and on the country?

Uber is all about moving people around their cities more efficiently and in style. Uber’s technology makes it easier to live in neighborhoods poorly served by public transportation and taxis. It makes it easier to go to dinner or get to business meetings in hard to reach neighborhoods. Uber also means fewer cars on the road. For every Uber car we add to a city, we’re taking at least 6 cars off the road and out of parking garages. And while prices are more than a taxi, they are significantly less than traditional limousine companies.

We model how many cars need to be on the road, and where they need to be positioned to serve customers most efficiently. For example, the Nationals, events at the Kennedy Center and Fourth of July fireworks all drive significant demand in DC -- we are constantly collecting this information and communicating it out to drivers to ensure that the right number of drivers are in the right places at the right times. We’ve even gotten pretty good at knowing exactly what drop in demand we can expect when Congress is out of session!

Uber also provides a platform for sedan drivers to make an honest living. Before Uber, sedan drivers often worked for large limousine providers (or “hustled” for rides illegally) and their paycheck and schedule was at the mercy of dispatchers. Uber empowers drivers to work when they want and how they want. The increased earnings and predictability of earnings has allowed many drivers to add cars and hire drivers. For the first time their earning potential goes well beyond their hours on the road.

Do you feel that Uber is supported by government, local and federal?

Uber has definitely faced challenges from local regulatory authorities and local government officials in many cities we have entered. When it comes to transportation, cities have done business a certain way for decades, and that means resistance to change, even if that change is good for its citizens. Rather than see how Uber’s technology is improving transportation and life in the city, local regulators don’t take the time to learn about Uber. Many have tried to limit Uber because it doesn’t fit into existing regulatory frameworks or tried to categorize Uber as a taxi or limousine rather than a technology company.

Why are you attending startup day and why do you think it’s important for startups to have a voice in Washington?

Policymakers need to better understand an important engine of economic growth and job creation: entrepreneurs who have an idea, execute on it, and create new markets. Decisions made in Congress or in local governments can either make it easier to start new businesses and create jobs or harder. Uber has created thousands of middle class jobs across the country by empowering licensed drivers to start their own businesses; we have created a great customer experience, and are bringing tax revenue to local and federal governments. Since startups don’t always have resources for big lobbying firms, it’s important for policymakers to create opportunities like this event, to have startups tell their stories and hopefully help lawmakers think differently about the issues they face.

Have you in your business faced any particular challenges related to policy?

Definitely -- we have faced challenges right here in DC. One example is upon arrival in DC we found that the limousine licencing office had not accepted a new application in nearly four years. A moratorium on licences that was only supposed to last for two years had suddenly become nearly four. There was no public documentation on this decision and drivers have been given no information on when it will re-open.

Another example is the pressure we have faced from local regulators who originally declared Uber’s model illegal without having taken the time to understand us. Going forward, I hope that regulators and legislators remain focused on the best outcomes for the citizens of their city rather than on politics or lobbying interests.

Ultimately Uber is all about choice - our goal is to roll out an efficient and reliable transportation alternative to as many people and in as many cities as possible. We are committed to using our technology to empower entrepreneurs and continue to ensure that consumers have access to the best possible transportation service at the best possible prices.

AgLocal at Startup Day

Today marks the kickoff of Startup Day on the Hill, an event launched by Engine to bring 18 startups from across the country to meet with policymakers to demo their products and talk about issues confronting small businesses. We caught up with AgLocal, who is attending the event. AgLocal is a web based marketplace and buyer management platform specific to meat producing farms, meat buyer/distributors, and retailers. 

What impact does your business have on your community and on the country?

Rural job creation, future farm sustainability and viability via food supply innovation.

AgLocal's mission is to use the web as a tool to remove many of the barriers to the market for independent family farms, giving them higher margins and incentivizing sustainable and ethical practices. By doing this we will use the efficiency created to drive the market with new options for buyers large and small.

Cost easement, quality and transparency will hand power to the meat lovers!

Do you feel that your business is supported by government, local and federal?

I do! Many policy makers and administrators have been supportive of our mission, there is also a lot of education and sharing that must continue in order to continue the momentum gained.

Why are you attending startup day and why do you think it’s important for startups to have a voice in Washington?

Even before I founded AgLocal and from my time at the Kauffman Foundation, traveling to DC and in Silicon Valley, I've learned of the importance of startups to the

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unique foundation of American innovation and wealth creation. Now more than ever is a chance to set a road map for future innovation and wealth, because of what we know about innovation in America. A good portion of wealth is created during economic down cycles (See this Kauffman report, also see economist Joseph Schumpeter theory of Creative Destruction.

However, America faces unique challenges that it didn't face before, due to the digital and global nature of this new economy. Dialogue about policies regarding visa access, intellectual property, business taxation, investment incentive programs, and government small business loan programs, university internship to work programs is important.

What technology related policy issues concern you the most?

Net neutrality, university intellectual property pipelines, legislation like (SOPA/PIPA).

Have you in your business faced any particular challenges related to policy? Successes/challenges dealing with them?

No challenges come immediately to mind that have affected us, but we are a young company.

Entrepreneurs Head to DC for Startup Day

As we’ve continued to build Engine over the past few months, we’ve talked with many people from across America -- with founders, serial entrepreneurs, investors. Even more than talking, though, we’ve been listening. We’ve heard from a cross-section of the startup community, and as this community becomes more aware of the place we as innovators and entrepreneurs hold in the resurgence of the American economy, many have expressed an interest in broadcasting those stories of success more widely and using them to effect change.

But one question has also popped up right alongside: How do we do it?

This week, we’re taking another step forward in working to get those stories heard and helping to focus the efforts of those in power in support of our growing startup community.

Startup Day on the Hill will feature 18 of our nation’s many great tech startups, working directly with policymakers in an effort to to build vital relationships between entrepreneurs and Washington. There will be a demo session for Members of Congress and their staffers to educate them on how the products being developed in our community are disrupting industries and changing lives. We’ll also have a roundtable discussion for staff about the role startups play in the economy, a breakfast get-to-know you session and discussion on Startup Act, and focused meetings with individual startups.

There’s more information about the companies attending, as well as some of the Members who have come on board on our Startup Day page. And follow along this week, as we’ll have plenty of interesting stories about our member companies, what we’re up to and what we find along the way. We hope this will be the first of many events in which we can build relationships, bridge the divide, and further the conversation about just how meaningful the work of entrepreneurs is to the American economy.

Another Way to Start the Conversation

This past weekend in Seattle, the first ever government focused Startup Weekend was held in City Hall. It followed the usual Startup Weekend model of building a product over the span of just one weekend, but with a special emphasis on taking advantage of open data to build businesses that worked with government to provide a product or service to the public. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, already a big proponent of open data, opened the event.

If you’re not already familiar with Startup Weekend, it’s an event series hosted worldwide in which enterprising developers, designers, and business experts come together, pitch ideas for businesses, form teams, and then get it done -- all in the span of a weekend. Come Sunday night, the teams present a demo of their product and their business plan in a pitch, and the best are selected as winners.

In this session, there was no shortage of ideas to fuse open data with private sector entrepreneurship, from web and mobile apps that engaged with arts and events data, to local community volunteer opportunities, socially curated legislation, and a directory for Seattle’s best locally grown businesses. WhichBus, a public transit trip planner that showed route safety based on crime data, tied first place with ArtRover, a mobile app that used geolocation technology and data on public art works to make the art of Seattle’s streets easier to access. The teams from these apps will meet with Mayor McGinn to discuss their business ideas. 

Participants proved their mettle at finding private sector solutions to public sector challenges, often under the mentorship of local government attendees, and in a shorter time than many who are familiar with the general timeline in the public sector might think possible. And while these businesses are not fully formed at the end of a weekend, some teams will stick together and keep working at it.

Zachary Cohn, facilitator of the event, noted Startup Weekend’s knack for bridging divides for common cause -- the Startup Weekend held in Gaza sparked business ideas that Israelis and Palestinians formed teams to work on together in easy accord, he said. With previous successes like that, bridging the divide between public data and private sector entrepreneurship was easy by comparison. And the teams that competed this past weekend demonstrated this, with great ideas transforming into great products in a very short amount of time.

Startup Weekend hopes to continue these open government workshops, including one coming up in Washington in June. We’re very supportive of their efforts and look forward to working with companies that grow out of these and other Startup Weekends in the months and years to come.

CEA Launches Immigration Virtual Lobby Day

The Consumer Electronics Association is holding a virtual lobby day today to ask Members of Congress to take action on strategic immigration reform.

We’ve written a lot about the importance of skilled immigration reform to allow high skilled workers and entrepreneurs to come to and remain in the United States to create jobs for U.S. workers.

Today’s effort focuses on two bills in particular, H.R. 2161, and H.R. 43, which propose significant reforms to the current immigration regime, such as easing the path for foreign students to obtain visas and creating a visa for foreign-born entrepreneurs to start their businesses here subject to specific requirements, as well as provisions to protect U.S. workers and grow the U.S. STEM workforce. The bills are two great first steps in advancing this vital conversation, crucial to the strength and vibrancy of our economy.

It’s encouraging to see increased discussion of this important issue and we urge you to use the CEA’s online tools to speak up. Now is your opportunity to start the dialogue with your representatives on skilled immigration. So stand up, virtually, and make your voice heard on an issue of great importance to our country, and our economy.

Advocating for the Intersection of Policy and Technology at SXSW

The Engine Advocacy crew is on its way home from its first SXSW. We found ourselves among friends there: entrepreneurs trying to build partnerships, consumers looking for the next great app for business or personal use, investors in search of the next high growth or long-run bet, reporters who actively engage with new media channels, and activists who, like us, want to advance policy that fosters new technologies and technology startups.

Engine’s panel featured a cohort of voices that had been active against SOPA and PIPA -- Andrew Rasiej, the chair of NY Tech Meetup; Mark Stanley, the leading communications voice from the Center for Democracy and Technology; Laurent Crenshaw, the legislative director for Rep. Darrell Issa; Mike McGeary, Engine co-founder and director; and Boonsri Dickinson from Business Insider, who moderated the panel.

The panel was both a discussion of the tactics that made the SOPA/PIPA protests so effective, and of how to use those tactics and others to mobilize the SOPA and PIPA protesters to take a proactive stance on tech policy issues in the future. This has consistently been a sticking point,for all types of advocacy -- how do you take the momentum gained from one urgent campaign, and turn it into sustained, positive action to advance a long term agenda? While the tech community might find it easy to block or defend against a piece or type of legislation, we have yet to determine the best advocacy tools for actively promoting legislation we like.

Our stance: the community needs compelling data that it can take to members of Congress to expand the knowledge on specific legislation, and we need to connect members of Congress directly with startups that employ their constituents.

In essence, we need to facilitate a really effective conversation.

This became more and more evident as we circulated the conference, meeting with entrepreneurs who were pitching innovative, useful products and services and building the businesses to support them; and seeing a fundamental disconnect between this sphere and that of policymakers. This was cemented when we met with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), who restated his commitment to assisting startups and fostering high-growth businesses in Kansas, and throughout the country. He highlighted the divide between the tech and non-tech communities by pointing out his own sense of being an outsider sitting at the table with a bunch of tech folks. This discomfort, which seems to be a common problem for members of Congress, clearly stems from a lack of effective communication.

The best possible outcome would be to educate policymakers about what we do; to make technology less alien, and to present them with hard data that proves the overarching value of what we do. The Kauffman Foundation leads on researching these issues, but there are many other groups working toward this goal. We’re working on some exciting research as well that we think can help shift the debate. This easy, effective communication we’re talking about may not happen overnight, but we’re confident that it will happen. Getting together in Austin was a great next step in the process. We look forward to the next phase -- the action phase -- as we move forward.

Beyond SOPA/PIPA at SXSW

We're pleased to announce an upcoming panel we're hosting at this year's South by Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin, and we hope that you can join us for a lively discussion. We've put together a great collection of people from the intersection of tech and politics who will take a look at the next phase in advocacy for the tech community on the whole, what we learned from SOPA and PIPA, and how we can keep people engaged to take a more active stance on tech policy and legislation going forward to help guide that debate and work with legislators and regulators to make better choices when it comes to tech and government.

Joining us for the discussion are:

Michael McGeary, Co-Founder/Director, Engine Advocacy

Andrew Rasiej, Founder, Personal Democracy Media

Mark Stanley, New Media, Center for Democracy and Technology

Laurent Crenshaw, Legislative Director, Office of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Boonsri Dickinson, Reporter, Business Insider

EVENT DETAILS:

Beyond SOPA/PIPA: Moving Forward with Tech Advocacy

5:00pm CST, Saturday, March 10

AT&T Conference Hotel, Salon C

Note: As this is an official SXSW event, a badge must be presented to join us.

We hope to see you there!

Engine Advocacy Turns Tech Nerds Into Political Experts

In case you missed it over the weekend, Alex Fitzpatrick at Mashable talks about Engine and tech advocacy’s future.

Read more at Mashable.

Mobile Commons Powers 200,000 Congressional Phone Calls

Using Mobile Commons’ technology, Tumblr, Reddit and Engine Advocacy enabled more than 200,000 visitors in a single day to launch calls to their Congressional representatives directly from their websites. Those were among the more than 500,000 calls launched through Mobile Commons during the anti-SOPA campaigns of the past month.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/559713#ixzz1kUk7ZTeT

9,788

9,788. That’s how many calls you’ve made against SOPA through our Click-to-Call tool. Can you find some friends to push us over 10,000 calls?