On Thursday, October 30th, from 1pm to 9 pm (EST), what started as a letter to friends about their reaction to Sarah Palin's nomination will morph into an eight-hour webathon. Having previously written an article about Lyra Kilston and Quinn Latimore on September 15th, I was not surprised to learn that just six weeks later the engine of the Internet has driven this movement to the next level.
At Stonestreet Studios in the heart of the Flatiron District in Manhattan, performers will read almost 600 letters that reflect a spectrum of responses to McCain's vice-presidential choice. This format was put to powerful use in 1987 in the documentary Letters Home From Vietnam. Now, with the power of new media to create both activism and community, tools including real-time live chat rooms and video-sharing via e-mail will bring the webcast to viewers around the country.
You will find the Ustream.tv link below. During the presentation, funds will be raised for three non-profit organizations whose constituents would be at risk with a McCain-Palin administration. They are People for the American Way, Alliance for Reproductive Justice (an Alaskan coalition of reproductive rights organizations), and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.
A donation widget will facilitate the collection of "microdonations" in the amount of $2.99 per user (a perfect price for the current economy).
The producers who are behind what they are billing as "the first ever live political fundraising webathon are Kathryn Jones and Charlie Oliver. Both women are new media producers.
Jones is the Founder of Synchronis.tv and Oliver is the Founder and CEO of ArtofTalk.tv.
With correspondence culled from over 100,000 women of various political persuasions and
ages ranging from 17-95, the online audience will get an earful.
This may turn out to be one reaction on a grand scale that Palin never anticipated.