The Million Campaign Homepage
Author: Matthew Edwards
What NEED does this meet?
Currently in the UK (and globally) there is a profound ‘democratic deficit’.
In other words, there is a disconnection between the decentralised political campaigns run on the ground and the mainstream political institutions that are meant to represent and enact the needs and will of the people.
In particular, the electorate are now massively alienated from Parliament.
This does not mean, as is often suggested, there is mass apathy.
People are as politically active, vibrant, and creative as ever.
They are simply failing to listen to those whose profession is politics, and many of those whose profession is politics are failing to listen to the people.
To regenerate our mainstream institutions we need to build as many bridges as possible (with as few tolls as possible) between the people, between different campaigns, and the politicians.
What is the APPROACH?
This proposal is eminently simple.
I noted with interest the stunning progress of the Million Dollar Homepage (http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/) run by Alex Tew, a 21 year old who decided to pay his way through university by selling a million pixels of internet advertising space for $1 each.
The page is now sold out.
I like Mr.Tew’s inventiveness. However, I feel the world has plenty of advertising already.
A Million Campaign Homepage would do exactly the same thing. It would sell (or, better, give away) pixels to non-violent political campaigns throughout the UK, thus creating a website bursting with links which would be a valuable resource as well as looking extraordinary.
It could be done as a one-off, single webpage with no particular limits on the kinds of campaigns involved.
It could also be run as several websites each dedicated to campaigns in a particular field – eg. anti-torture, peace campaigns, animal rights, pro-science, disarmament, etc etc.
What are the BENEFITS to people?
The idea is, in essence, to build a vast Sim City-style grid of links to political campaigns. This would have potential in building bridges between campaigns which might otherwise be isolated. It would also serve as a very direct, very visual, and very easy to use set of bookmarks – or a kind of library index, with each book (the website of the campaign in question) accessible at the click of a mouse.
What is the COMPETITION?
There may be copyright issues with Mr.Tew’s website. However, since it would be dedicated to political campaigns it would, I trust, make the seven changes necessary to overcome copyright considerations. It would, after all, be a very different enterprise.
There are not really directly similar services out there, although people’s use of Rupert Murdoch’s Myspace as an Ourspace to spread political consciousness is in some ways similar.
There are all sorts of sites with useful links pages.
Nobody has, to my knowledge, yet attempted to weave them together into a tapestry which can be navigated by somebody at a computer.
What BUDGETS & LOGISTICS are required?
This depends on how it is organised.
In theory, it would cost the price of hosting a single webpage, and the hours of labour involved in organising it.
If it were run on a not-for-profit basis it would be theoretically free, if the volunteers involved are happy to offer their labour for nothing.
There would, I am sure, be the potential for sponsorship and help.
As for difficulty, the beauty of it is that it is utterly simple.
May I add that while in the final paragraph I refer to the issue of whether volunteers are happy to offer their labour for nothing, I would like to stress that I am against this in practice.
As Lord May of Oxford noted, our current economic system benefits those who pollute and punishes those who are virtuous to the planet.
That is not the right way round.
A part of this is the difficulty of people who are politically active being able to survive in our current economy, an economy notable for its precariousness.
There are too many people, particularly young people, who are barely surviving financially and are involved in projects which are extremely beneficial to society and to the planet.
Hopefully sponsorship and/or charging a small fee to appear on the website would ensure that, while the project as a whole would be a not-for-profit enterprise, the people involved in making it would do it for a fair amount of money, as well as the love.
Matthew
There are no copyright issues involved with this concept which I understand has resulted in “every man and his dog” building web-sites of this nature.
Dear Wendy Stern
Thank you for the comment.
Where?
Matthew D Edwards
Matthew – your site’s been down for a few days.
James
Wonderful idea Matthew. You will see from our website we are very concerned at the destruction of the family through social policies, financial abuses and the three industries; divorce, adoption and domestic violence.
This is to let you know we are seeking help in raising the profile of a campaign to begin on friday October 13th 06 [unlucky for some]to the UN on widespread, systematic and persistent abuses in the western industrialised world.
I can be contacted on Justjesting@gmail.com for anyone interested. Keep up the good work, somebody, anybody and everbody has to bring Bliar to Justice. The Nuremburg trials being revisited now needs to visit closer to home.
Shaun
After a false accusation of ‘phishing’ (a misdemeanour I had never heard of prior to being accused of it), we are proud to announce that the Million Campaign Homepage is back on track and available at http://www.millioncampaignhomepage.net.
As of September 26th 2006, we currently have 983,750 pixels and space for 1,574 individuals and organisations working to further social and environmental harmony who are operating in and from the UK.
Thanks Shaun O’Connell – after his last Nuremberg rally today, it is time for Mr.Blair to face his Nuremberg trial.
There is a seat in the International Criminal Court in the Hague and a war crimes charge waiting.
Matthew Edwards
THE MILLION CAMPAIGN HOMEPAGE FOUNDATION