There is an op with Suggestions for Voter outreach for Bernie Sanders Supporters

[bravenak]

One of the ideas seems to be suggesting spamming or posting messages on black message boards. As there are already many complaints of harassment, it may be a good idea to think it over very carefully to ensure that more harm than good is not done.


This is an excerpt of the call to action:

Black Lives Matter Activist, Dr. Cornell West, Endorses Bernie Sanders in this Youtube video. Take this Youtube video and post it on every Black Lives Matter FB, Twitter, etc. page, and include this title "Black Lives Matter Activist Dr. Cornel West, Endorses Bernie Sanders"
Also post this on all African American political pages, Black Democrat pages, etc. Use your imagination. Your computer is a universe of power, use it to the max, spending 1, 2, 3, 4 hours per day sending videos out as above. Corporate media will NOT get Bernie Elected, YOU will. BECOME THE MEDIA.
African Americans will respond to Bernie's message, of free university education, expanding social security, raising minimum wage to $15 per hour as well (see below).
HOW DO I FIND FB PAGES FOR "BLACK LIVES MATTER" OR "BLACK DEMOCRATS" ETC.?
Enter in the Facebook search box "Black Lives Matter New York" and you'll see a drop down list of FB pages related to this. Contact each of them to post the above title and video. Then type "Black Lives Matter California" and you'll find another list. What I do is open a U.S. State Maps image by searching google for one, and I methodically go state by state until I've contacted Black Lives Matter, etc. groups in all 50 states.
.

This may not be a good idea.

[Chitown Kev]

1. SOME outreach is fine...even necessary

But are people even doing any research as to where they are posting these messages? Even for BLM FB pages, are you reading the local issues and targeting and tailoring your message in that fashion?

Be a professional about it (even if you aren't a professional).

That OP you copied is simply spamming and browbeating people, and that will NOT go over well with African Americans.

[bravenak]

2. You make sense. Gotta get to know the area and the culture.

Nobody wants folks from far away bothering them. When people or groups from the lower 48 come up here to buy elections, we are tending towards stfu. It reminds me of the people spamming John Lewis about endorsing Hillary.

[sufrommich]

3. You would think a lesson would have been

learned from the last time they tried this.

[bravenak]

6. I had HOPED!

[BlueCaliDem]

28. Nope. Not going to happen. They've come to the realization that in order for

Sanders to win, they'll actually need the votes from people he'd been ignoring earlier in his campaign - Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos.

And as an aside, Cornell West, an ObamaHater of the first order and is therefore deeply disliked in the Black community, is not an asset to the Sanders Campaign. He's a liability.

[Godhumor]

4. I said something in the other thread, as well

Was told I don't understand social media.

[bravenak]

5. Lolololol!!!

And they do?? This is a terrible way to connect with people. It's like a bunch of spam ads with Cornel's face.

[Fawke Em]

14. Internet marketing is a FANTASTIC way to connect with people, actually.

I get paid to do it and know how it's done.

Does it replace one-on-one contact? No. But it is a million times better than calling people on the phone. Calling people annoys them. If it's on social media they can choose to ignore it, save it to view later when they have the time or block the user. Boom done.

[bravenak]

20. I do not find you that great at it...

[Fawke Em]

24. You find all Bernie supporters objectionable.

That's not saying much.

[bravenak]

30. I like plenty of them. Susan Calvin, GollyGee, Randys1, mary, erich, and many more!!!

[Fawke Em]

12. You don't.

[Cha]

42. Yeah, don't you know.. Social Media=Sledgehammer?

[MineralMan]

7. I think spamming is a bad idea in all cases.

It's instantly detected and universally disliked on all discussion forums. Spam campaigns, especially, fail badly. There are not an unlimited number of discussion forums for any group, so it's very likely that the same messages would be posted multiple times by new people with few or no previous posts.

As such, those duplicated posts will be immediately noticed and disregarded. Whoever posted them will probably be banned from the forum, as well.

The correct approach is to sign up on a forum, read posts there to get an idea of who is on the forum, and then post some replies in threads. After establishing at least some credibility, a post like that, but written in your own words, is less likely to be detected as spam. That takes time and a modicum of intelligence to do, though, which is why it rarely happens.

Here on DU, spam happens constantly, but we have MIRT. When spam is detected, MIRT gets rid of it without most people ever seeing it. Not all forums have team like that, so spam posts get seen and have plenty of chances to annoy regulars.

Spamming forums doesn't work. It defeats its own purpose almost always.

[bravenak]

8. I agree. I would not suggest anyone use this tactic.

It ends up being harmful to the campaign. It bothers me when it happens to me. When people post over and over on my FB page, I block them.

[Fawke Em]

10. Why is your Facebook open so anyone can post?

That's not very Internet safe.

You need to go adjust your privacy settings.

[bravenak]

17. My facebook is closed.

[Fawke Em]

26. Then people shouldn't be spamming you.

The only way they could is that you've accepted them as friends and that's on you.

My FB never gets spammed.

Hey, we don't always agree, but I can teach you how to lock yours down if you haven't.

[bravenak]

29. I understand web developement and security. No need.

[Fawke Em]

31. Web development has nothing to do with it, but OK.

I really wasn't being mean.

You absolutely should not get spammed on Facebook.

[bravenak]

32. I said AND SECURITY.

[Fawke Em]

34. Again, then, why are people spamming your Facebook?

[bravenak]

35. Who said they were? Only you. I am done answering these questions.

[Fawke Em]

9. Sigh. Do you people not understand Twitter?

Or Facebook or Instagram or Slack or any of these things?

Using a hashtag to post a video is NOT spamming. It's a normal event. Requesting (or "contacting" as the poster said) a FB group owner to post is video is NOT spamming. They have to approve it. If the group is public and they don't like uninvited guests, they will make the group private and you have to request it. If you go to a group page somewhere and see the video you were going to post is already posted, comment on it instead of reposting it. That's NOT spamming.

Go ahead and go to Twitter and type in a hashtag you follow. You probably will see three or four of the same video posted to that hashtag and no one gets annoyed. Social media users realize there will be repeat items if you follow a hashtag long enough. The cool thing is: you can ignore them and scroll on if you've seen it before or aren't interested.

Posting video to social media isn't really annoying. It's far more annoying that every single show on MSNBC or Fox or CNN is all about Trump and Carson and we can't just scroll on by to get to what we want to hear or read about.

The fact is that the mainstream media controls what many Americans see and hear, but social media is changing that. The poster, while zealous in their application, is not trying to rile anyone up - they are simply trying to spread a message. It's called "drip marketing" and it works.

[Fawke Em]

27. Another meme bites the dust.

[Recursion]

47. Actually it's about ethics in Democratic Primary marketing

If you think what is being suggested would be effective, you should really re-look at #berniesoblack.

[mcar]

11. And who in the heck has time

To watch all these videos?

[Fawke Em]

13. That's the beauty of social media: you don't have to. eom

[bravenak]

19. Exactly!

[Bobbie Jo]

23. This

I think Bernie's supporters have already ruined their chances of harnessing the Internet for positive purposes. They have used all forms of social media to bully the supporters of other candidates, and to harass black Democrats and people who are undecided. Here I thought the Bernistas were supposed to be young, tech-savvy types. Instead, they show us how NOT to use social media for a good political purpose.

That ship has sailed...and sunk.

[SecularMotion]

45. Here's the entire post

None of the suggestions in that post are good ideas, IMO.

I remember when Obama ran the first time. He was the first Presidential candidate to harness the Internet to work for him. His campaign figured it out very quickly. They did some of it on their own, and they picked up on the existing support already being expressed online.

There were groups out there, already establishing themselves, blogging for Obama and raising money. Obama's campaign brought them into the fold right away. I recall one group in Chicago that did not like this. They wanted to remain independent. They complained about the top-down style of Obama's campaign.

They and other groups did get on board, though. It does not work to have a bunch of loose cannon rolling around.

The things Bernie's supporters are doing are neither coordinated nor professional. And watching a bunch of videos online does nothing to convince people.

I think Bernie's supporters have already ruined their chances of harnessing the Internet for positive purposes. They have used all forms of social media to bully the supporters of other candidates, and to harass black Democrats and people who are undecided. Here I thought the Bernistas were supposed to be young, tech-savvy types. Instead, they show us how NOT to use social media for a good political purpose.

[Fawke Em]

25. I think you need to get out of your bubble. eom

[murielm99]

33. I think Bernie supporters are the ones

in a bubble. You are just not seeing the real world.

Bernie appeals to a very narrow group of people. That group has done everything wrong when it comes to expanding his appeal to those outside the group.

[mmonk]

16. Quenn of the personal insult.

The Third Way is not your savior. Carry on.

[bravenak]

18. Queen not Quenn

[murielm99]

21. Your majesty!

or is it majjesty?

[bravenak]

22. .

[MohRokTah]

36. This tactic could spark a return to the #Berniesoblack hashtag on Twitter. eom

[bravenak]

37. I hope so!!! I loved it!!!

[MohRokTah]

38. My favorite tweet on that hashtag?

#Berniesoblack Dr. Martin Luther King marched with HIM.

[bravenak]

39. Lol!!

I miss berniesoblack.

[Jamaal510]

40. I didn't know CW

is a BLM activist. He's not going to be of any use in attracting Black support and strengthening BLM except as dead weight.

[jfern]

41. Search internet for one bad Bernie supporter, use this to attack all Bernie supporters

Rinse, wash, repeat. Such a positive campaign you Hillary supporters are running.

[Cha]

43. Spamming Cornel West? Go for it bernies!

[mmonk]

44. So how can Dr. West get his message out?

Everywhere I go on the internet, I am spammed with people or organizations trying to get theirs out.

[bravenak]

50. Are those messages specifically designed and targeted towards you?

Or are they general messages that I would get too? Why should black have to deal with extra spam just for Bernie? Do you think spam of Cornel will make us like bernie? We don'r even like Cornel!!

[mmonk]

53. So his messages are invalidated?

And yes, the messages that confront me on the internet are directed towards me.

[bravenak]

54. Invalidated by the spam factor, yes.

Cornel? Invalidated by his own actions the past few years. We cared about his attitudes on race, but that was 25 years ago.

[mmonk]

55. Then all messages directed towards me are equally invalidated.

I suppose it's just us older folk then with a keen memory he appeals to. Still no skin off your back. The nightmares I have seen in the past will curl your sensibilities. No more towards a backward tract for us and the robber barons. You are still free to disagree.

[bravenak]

56. I usually disregarded most ad in the pst and will continue. It is irritating. I hate them.

[mmonk]

57. Actually, me too.

[Recursion]

46. Cornell West is a "BLM Activist"?

That's... just... I mean...

[bravenak]

52. I know.. I don't even bother to argue the point anymore.

[betterdemsonly]

48. I suspect this behavior is perfectly ok on behalf of a neolib, who loves wallstreet

and neocon wars, and the behavior is defined as outreach not spamming.

As if you are not a Hillary supporter.

[bravenak]

51. You must not have read it. It is spam.

[NCTraveler]

49. WT as AA outreach for the Sanders campaign!!!! Nt