88% there: "Don't Mess With The Internet" billboard in Lamar Smith's district
crowdtilt.com
crowdtilt.com
There seems to be a tendency among people who are really involved with politics to assume that everybody else is also really involved with politics, and therefore don't need any explanation about why we should be so angry about whatever it is we're supposed to be angry about.
But we're not. So if you want us to get behind your cause, you're going to need to tell us what it is. Possibly on your giant billboard itself.
Maybe a faulty assumption!
This sentiment that people with political agendas need to inform their potential constituents is what has created our current political problems in America. When people don't pay attention, anyone who can attract eyeballs and make a reasonable sounding argument gets to do as they please. If we were paying attention, we wouldn't let these people wreak havoc in our society.
edit: What does it mean to live in a democracy where nobody knows whats going on? I know we're all familiar with and jaded to the current state of affairs, but I'm asking that we spend more time thinking about that state of affairs and what we expect of ourselves and our politicians.
That's some misplaced hope.
Considering he was elected I kind of assume a lot people like what they think he stands for.
Or maybe they could.
I'm amazed at some of things some Arizona[0] politicians support, such as the NDAA, things that should properly outrage the average citizen. But they don't, indeed these people get re-elected, and I believe it is precisely because of the outrageous things they support.
Even if the average Texan knows that Lamar was behind SOPA they may, for whatever reason, still think SOPA was a good idea.
0: Where I live.
There are clearly some number of people who support this guy, and assuming that everyone who sees his name is also aware that he's a bad person is naive at best.
The average person on the street is has a level of understanding that's closer to "Keep the government out of my medicare!!". People typically don't know the names of their representatives, the policies they stand for and the impact those policies are going to have in practice. They have to know all of those things in order to understand the meaning of "Don't mess with the internet".
Fair enough, but it's naive to assume that simply equating Lamer Smith with SOPA is sufficient.
In 2010, 236,284 people voted in the district, of which 162,763 voted for Smith. Let's assume all voters know who he is and what he stands for, and that everyone else probably doesn't. That gives us 40% of the district's population that know what's going on. Fewer voted for him, and even fewer like what he stands for, since voting is usually a compromise.
This is an overestimate.
There is a tendency among some to conclude that a big billboard must have a lot of information. But people are driving by at high speeds and can barely finish 5 words. I think in this case, simplicity works for the cause.
Then there are the apathetic people...
If you want something like this to be effective, you have to take your inspiration from political attack ads. Throw his desaturated face up there on a black background.
It think they are using the current phrase as a parody of the famous anti-litter ad campaign "Don't Mess With Texas" [1]
As a Texan who happens to live in Lamar Smith's district, I think the effectiveness is entirely dependent on where in his district it is bought. His district includes SW Austin and many rural areas such as Kerrville.
Edit:
for some reason the wikipedia page is not linking correctly to wikipedia. using google search
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=dont+mess+with+texas+wiki
plus #dontmesswiththeinternet is a tiny bit shorter than #lamarsoldyououtforbiggovernment
This is more of a gloating-esque billboard, not an effective one. I completely support the idea, but I think this as poor of "an implementation" as possible.
Give the site a try sometime and let us know any feedback you have that could improve the experience: team @ crowdtilt.com
(most uses of the site are for a "kickstarter for groups of friends" where instead of a $30,000 documentary, it's a $1,300 party-bus where like an evite, you share the link/campaign with your group instead of strangers just coming across it through a "browse" page)
Also I was a little put off by registration page since it at first seems like you need facebook and the non-facebook options is in little print. When you click that link it and the name and email box appear would in my view be a better registration box to put first.
We are also working on a better login/sign-up flow. I appreciate your feedback.
A better strategy might be hacking the billboard system by buying up remnant space and cancelling after a month. Since it costs money to take down Billboards, and remnant boards are remnant for a reason, they will probably stay up for several months without paying for more than a month. (If they get PSA pricing, it will be even cheaper.)
If so, you're right. This is money going right back into their pockets.
Though I know area around his San Antonio office might have some private billboards set up by local landowners in the area. He's right off a major highway. Maybe one of those is a possible choice?