Get FISA Right (GFR), the internet based activist group begun on mybarackobama.com to alter Sen. Obama's stance on government surveillance and telecom immunity, has moved on in a big way. After losing the legislative battle on FISA the group faced a challenging decision: disband and look for ways to effect government action on illegal surveillance individually or find new causes to organize members around. The active members knew they had captured lightning in a bottle with their melding of dedication to a cause and mastery of internet based activism. What they decided was to take the fight for rule of law and protecting your constitutional rights forward by empowering you to fund their new television ad.
Thanks to the genius of SaysMeTV (a Venice, California, based company that buys cable advertisement space in bulk and sells 30 second spots to individuals) Get FISA Right has prepared and released its most ambitious project yet: a citizen funded television advertisement. GFR's talent rich group plus SaysMe's innovative airtime strategy is empowering supporters to fund it all over America. How much does 30 seconds of cable TV cost? Amazingly, not that much.
From $6 on CNBC in Cleveland to $2063 on ESPN in New York and everything in between, SaysMe has prices and networks for everyone. What is truly amazing about SaysMe is it brings the cookies of television advertisement down to the lower shelf. Anyone with a video camera, internet connection, and credit card can produce and distribute a message for the masses. The stranglehold that big media firms, large corporations, and wealthy citizens have over our airwaves is ending.
SaysMe is currently in eight markets including Dallas, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia and is expanding into 22 networks by August 15 including Seattle and Washington DC. SaysMe is excited to be working with groups like NARAL Pro Choice, Human Rights Campaign, and Get FISA Right because of instead of having citizen advocacy groups shout to their members with mass mailings and occasional meet ups, SaysMe will allow concerned citizens of any political affiliation to get their voice out and invigorate public dialogue.
Lisa Eisenpresser, SaysMe's CEO, sees it as "The next step in the evolution of the 1st amendment and free speech." Eisenpresser says the inspiration for SaysMe came from a desire to make television not just about consumption but also about production and "encouraging a conversation between everyday people using television and the internet." How refreshing for the founders of a media corporation to want it to be about us. SaysMe envisions themselves as a YouTube-like forum, where users can submit content. Individuals will be able to submit 30 second shorts for issue advocacy, local area band promotion, or even an ad for selling their used truck. With the technology available the ad will target cable TV in a specific zipcode and voila! Issue resolved. Concert Success. Truck sold.
Instead of having content generated in studios, financed with giant bankrolls, and distributed to the masses on a limited number of channels SaysMe is encouraging you to attack the media world asymmetrically. There is no cable network or market safe from the power of a concerned citizen with a message anymore. If you want to run your own Barack Obama ad on FoxNews or John McCain ad on MSNBC Eisenpresser thinks that's awesome and SaysMe is here to help
How awesome is it that we can buy 30 seconds of cable TV for the price of a large mocha? Pretty awesome. As Lisa Eisenpresser puts it, "Make your voice heard, Make your opinion count."