Hotsoup.com appears to be attracting some large names from all over the political spectrum, as promised.
Their press release today drops a few names: John McCain, Lance Armstrong, Lloyd Hill, Bob Buford, and Mary Shull.
In case you don’t recognize that last one, Mary Shull represents the group that Hotsoup is targeting. Hotsoup calls them Opinion Drivers. They’ve also been called Influencers or Trendsetters. Mary is a stay-at-home mom who is also a political activist with a 1500-person contact list. Recently, candidates and committees have been contacting her regarding using this viral marketing/social networking thing to their advantage.
Mary has become an Opinion Driver. She’s influential, and now her name is part of a national story. Whether Hotsoup can deliver on its promise to connect Opinion Drivers with Policymakers and reopen a democratic dialog remains to be seen, but it’s a pretty cool concept.
Cool! Really. But will it work? Do I have this right? Hotsoup success depends on numbers of people looking at it. how do you get those numbers?
Netroots viral marketing, baby. I’m growing well-versed in the vocabulary (read: buzzwords) surrounding national marketing via the Internet.
Organic growth combined with some limited traditional media. I think the public is ready for a forum like this.
But do they publish their numbers i.e. “hits” and can you varify them?
As Ronald Reagan once said: “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”