There’s trouble all around the world
Well, it looks that way to me
People don’t know what to do
They don’t know where they should be
But just one question still remains
To which we must respond
Two roads lead from where we are
Which side are you on?
Which Side, words and music by Arlo Guthrie
Over the last few months, there has been some debate over Internet political vendors and which side they are on. John at AmericaBlog went after Convio and Capital Advantage.
In the last couple of days, bloggers including Kate Kaye at Personal Democracy Forum and Dunc at Political Asylum have jumped on a Roll Call story going after RightClick Strategies.
Before I go any further, I should disclose that over the years we have worked with Convio, Capital Advantage and RightClick (we sponsored a Blogger Relations conference with them a few weeks ago).
So which side am I on?
I think there is a big difference between consultants that sell strategy and software companies that sell technology. The challenge is when companies try to do both and that is where every company in this market will need to pick sides – not between left and right, but between being strategic consultants and technology vendors.
In 1993, when
IDI started our Internet practice, the market was so small (both sellers and buyers) we had no choice, but to be both strategic consultants and a technology vendor. As the market for Internet political services has matured, most of the vendors have picked sides with companies like GetActive, Convio and Capital Advantage siding with technology and companies like IDI siding with strategic advice ( In February of this year, we sold our technology business to GetActive).
While the marketing materials of some of the pure technology companies makes it appear that they play a role in their clients strategy, the reality is that they are no more strategic then an arms dealer. While the the decision to buy certain weapons is strategic (along with when, where and how to use them) the weapons in and of themselves are not.
As strategic consultants we help our clients win, clearly if we were helping their political opponents it would be a disservice to our clients. We also would be providing a disservice to our clients if we did not recommend the best technology to match their strategic goals regardless of that technologies other users.
