Grading the Houston Mayoral Websites

Disregarding what the candidates vying to be the next Houston Mayor actually stand for or what their political affiliation may be, I decided to grade them based on what their website looks like.

As of today, I have no preference with any of the four candidate’s websites that I will be judging but more importantly I will be viewing their websites through an objective lens that has no bias. That being said, I decided to breakdown the websites into 8 categories. Although there are four Mayoral candidates that I know, I will only be grading three.

As a young prospective voter from Houston, it is important to me that candidates interact with potential voters (like myself) via online social media and mobile communications that I interact with. I do not watch TV ... heard of Hulu and podcasts? So, your normal television adverts will be useless. I do not listen to the radio ... heard of an iPod? So, radio spots on the coolest or trendiest radio stations is wack! I want to be sought out the way I communicate with friends ... via social networks like Facebook or Twitter, email and text messages.

The four candidates that are running for Houston Mayor are Peter Brown, Gene Locke, Roy Morales and Annise Parker. Unfortunately due to Roy Morales’ meek website, I will not be grading his site. In fact, if I were to give him a grade, it would be an F.

I hope he or someone near him stumbles upon this blog post and heeds my advice … Wordpress has FREE templates.  Use them. There is no excuse why 6 months before Election Day, you still have a poorly designed website … err splash page. If you can not even manage to coherently put together an organized/polished website explaining your views and leadership skills … then I have a hard time believing you can run the City of Houston. That being said … let the judging begin!

Logo – After President Barack Obama set the standard on Political logos; one cannot ignore the impact they have. Much has to do with the power of branding. The logo that can be best branded would have to be Anise Parker. The star, although not as iconic as Barack Obama’s O, can have a lot of power if implemented correctly.

Website Design – A clean and beautiful website will attract visitors and promote interaction between the politician and their constituency. Everything from the layout to the colors chosen are important in the final output of a website. More importantly, a novice user should not feel intimidated by the website. They should be able to obtain the information they seek with ease. Design wise, Gene Locke, achieved the most aesthetically pleasing website. From the gradients to the City Hall background airbrushed over the blue, the website is clean. It is unfortunate that Peter Brown, an architect, would not win a category destined to be his due to his profession. In fact, out of the three candidates, Peter Brown’s website is the ugliest not counting Roy Morales of course. It looks dated, like it was made it 1994.

Front Page – The front page is the first page that any visitor interacts with when viewing a politician’s website. This first impression is important since it will either sell or scare the voter away. More importantly, the information on the front page should be easy to navigate and comprehend.  All of the candidate’s websites have the same layout but it is the way information is presented that will be key to judging this category. Annise Parker’s website is the most easy to navigate. It allows one to enter their email or contribute from the front page. Unlike, Locke’s website, it does not ask for a lot of information in order to receive a newsletter. Although Brown’s website is simple, it is still bare with not a lot of relevant content on the front page.

Content – It does not matter how pretty a website may look … if it does not have content, it is irrelevant. Unfortunately for Locke, he has some blank pages and Parker’s website could beef up some of her pages. Peter Brown wins this category hands down as he has a surplus of valuable information on his website. From reading his blog that is maintained in almost a daily basis and spending time to offer solutions … he has done a good job to make his website valuable to any potential voter.

Mobile Campaign – A mobile campaign is as necessary as an email campaign or Television campaign in any race for political office. Ever since Obama created buzz for disclosing his Vice President pick via a text message to supporters, it does not make sense why any candidate in a post 2008 election cycle … would fail to implement a mobile campaign. Gene Locke takes this category easily as his website offers potential voters and supporters the ability to text a short code in order to stay informed with the campaign. Do not believe me? Text LOCKE to 70376 to get in the loop. If Parker and Brown want to interact with potential voters under the age of 40 they must seek them in all types of mediums.

Social Media Campaign – Obama was the most effective candidate to use social networks to jumpstart a grassroots effort that would end up giving him the support needed to win the 2008 election. A candidate that fails to connect with potential voters in the environments they congregate … will not get that far. Although all three candidates implement a social media strategy, it is Annise Parker that is implementing it the best. She makes it “crystal” to her supporters on how they can participate in social networks in order to promote her views. Parker has over 4,127 supporters on Facebook compared to Locke’s 466 and Brown’s disappointing 140. Locke is a close second behind Parker though and I expect him to surpass Parker and Brown as he integrates a Mobile Campaign along with his Social Media Campaign. Locke seems to have just joined the Social Media realm and thus has not much to show. At least he has a Twitter account unlike Brown. More importantly though, his tweets look more genuine and not like some polished political copy submitted by a volunteer staff member. He also submits tweets from both a computer and his cell phone. That is so what a 24 year old young voter like myself that is engaged in social networks interacts like.

Multimedia Campaign – It is no secret that people would rather watch something instead of read it. Obama understood this concept and that is how he became the first YouTube President. Peter Brown seems to understand this and its evident if one visits his YouTube Channel. He currently boasts 13 videos compared to Parker’s 5 and Locke’s weak 1. Although, I must note … Locke was innovative and trendy to offer live broadcasts of his Kick-Off speech via Qik. I expect Locke to challenge Brown in this arena in other forms but nonetheless Brown wins.

Overall, the most effective website as of early May is Annise Parker’s website. This is not to say that she is best candidate because I neither agree nor disagree with her views. In my professional opinion, I think her website is the most effective out of all three candidates that I judged. Her website although not the most aestically pleasing … is still designed ok enough to allow anyone visiting to easily find any material on the website.

The ease of access and implementation of social networks is a key reason why her website excels the other two. A website should not only promote a candidate’s agenda … it should also offer an easy way for that supporter to engage with the campaign as many ways possible and in the easiest fashion. A novice or experienced computer user will be able to contribute, read content and interact with the Annise Parker website.

I give Parker an A+, Locke an A- and Brown a B+ for their websites. I can see the Gene Locke campaign overpowering Parker's online presence once it gets going but in the mean time Annise Parker is the winner. What do you think? Is Parker’s website the most effective one in this year’s race? Disagree … I would like to hear your thoughts. Is there something I missed? How would you grade their websites?