Contact: Ryan Ozimek
(202) 585-0239
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2004

Online Political Campaigns, Engagement Tools Were Among Discussed Technologies

WASHINGTON - PICnet, Inc. (www.picnet.net), a technology consulting firm for non-profit organizations, led the second in a series of ten roundtable discussions on innovation in the non-profit, political, and government arenas. Senior members of advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, and technology firms participated in the lively session of the Innovation Roundtable, setting the tone for a decade of technology innovation in the public sector.

"These sessions fuel the fire of innovation that is brewing in the public service sector," said Ryan Ozimek, CEO of PICnet. "For too long, the public service sector has been limited in the technology solutions provided to them to solve difficult problems. We must work together to develop ideas that effectively move us from concepts to solutions."

The roundtable explored the diversity in technology strategies among the largest organizations and campaigns, and also displayed divergent viewpoints on how the Republican and Democratic parties use technology in current campaigns - from centralized operations to grassroots empowerment. The roundtable also spurred discussion on open source technology and its concurrent impact on technology and political fields.

"It is truly amazing how far things have come with respect to technology and the non-profit, political technology sector," said participant Heather Holdridge of the Carol/Trevelyan Strategy Group (CTSG), the company that created the first campaign Web site in 1994. "I think the one thing that is missing is a sense of vision and reaching out for some combination of strategy mixed in with new tools and technology for the greatest impact. It bubbles up, especially this year, but I think the best is yet to come."

The mission of the Innovation Roundtable series is to formulate a vision for the future of technology in the public sector. Discussions such as these are a rare opportunity for members from across the advocacy, technology, and campaigning spectrum to openly share ideas. These events give the public sector community the opportunity to envision how technology can leverage the agenda of political campaigns and advocacy groups.

"I see this series as the first step to really tapping the true potential of the Internet, which we are just now scratching the surface of," continued Holdridge.

Participating members included Heather Booth of Booth Consulting, Andrew Cohen of Beaconfire Consulting, Randolph Court of the Democratic Leadership Council, Heather Holdridge of CTSG, Matt Howes of the American Civil Liberties Union, Travis Murphy from the Office of Congressman Jerry Moran and the Republican Communications Association, Phil Noble of Politics Online, Nathaniel Pearlman of NGP Software, Larry Purpuro of Rightclick Strategies, Arvind Rajan of Grassroots Enterprise, Dr. Alan Rosenblatt of e-advocates, and Gena Wright of AARP.

PICnet hosts Innovation Roundtable discussions each month, and the series is scheduled to expand from its base in Washington, DC, to San Francisco and New York for the remainder of 2004. For more information about the Innovation Roundtable series, please contact Ryan Ozimek at (202) 585-0232 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it.

About PICnet

PICnet, Inc. empowers the missions of non-profit, government, and international organizations through technology. Based in Washington, DC, PICnet was founded in 1999 to provide Web design, application and database development, Web hosting, technology strategy, and network support to the public service sector.

To learn more about PICnet, visit us on the Web at www.picnet.net.

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