This is the second in a series of reviews of democratic presidential campaign websites dedicated to young voters.  As I previously outlined, my purpose in writing these is to provide a useful critique that our presidential contenders can use to improve their outreach to younger voters.  The first review in this series examined YouthRoots, a project of Mark Warner's now-defunct presidential campaign.

This second review will focus on John Edwards and the One America Committee.  Currently, the One American Committee does not have a youth-specific program, making this a somewhat akward and out-of-bound review for my chosen topic.  However, what One America does have is One Corps - an interesting program that I think overlaps philosophically and technologically with elements that can make for a solid campaign to engage voters under 30.  

Still in Beta, One Corps is an attempt to build a social network for local activism.  A facile yet easily graspable description might be to say that it attempts to mashup the social networking of Friendster with the online-to-offline movement of MeetUp in the service of a sizable number of ambitious electoral and social justice goals:

• Fight poverty in their local communities; addressing important local needs through community organizing and service projects.


• Help elect local, state and federal candidates who support One America ideals, and who are fighting for all Americans.


• Register new voters for this November's election.


• Assist with important statewide ballot initiatives, like those seeking to raise the minimum wage in AZ, CO, MO, MT, NV, and OH.


• And, spread the message of One America by writing letters to the editor, calling local radio stations, talking with other members of their communities at events and meetings, and recruiting new members to the One Corps community.  

It is by now a matter of conventional wisdom that, more so than our parents' generation, Millenials are a community-oriented generation of volunteers.  More and more, we are producers of information as much as we are consumers, and we are looking to participate in the lives of our communities.  As Robert Putnam has reported (pdf), we are the only generation whose level of community service and participation has maintained an increase since 9/11.  So while I don't consider One Corps to be a replacement for a dedicated youth outreach, its focus on giving back to the community and working locally on a range of issues that cross the line between strict electoral politics and opportunities with a more social justice flavor is clearly something that could attract younger voters.  

If constructed properly, One Corps could accommodate the coordination needs of the youth arm of a presidential campaign.  In both form and content it has the potential to attract a large pool of younger voters.  It doesn't hurt that the One America Committee already promotes One Corps on MySpace. Let me emphasize, however, that when Senator Edwards does begin to ramp up a dedicated youth outreach program, he will need to create a broader strategy that taps multiple social networks - including niche networks that target more specific subcultures - and devise a way to integrate that work with One Corps. This strategy will also need to provide young supporters their own networked community with within the larger realm of Edwards supporters and One Corps chapters.

That said, let's dig in and see what One Corps is all about.  As in my last review, I'll tackle One Corps section by section noting what is good, what's bad, and what is missing.  

There's more...