Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Technology, Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows For NationBuilder

What happens when technology startups and the nation's political machine collide? Strange results, it seems--at least for one local Los Angeles startup, NationBuilder. A report from the Wall Street Journal says that the firm--founded by Democrats, but which supplies it online services to anyone--has run into issues with Democratic groups after they found it was supplying its online software to Republican candidates. NationBuilder's services are open to any nonprofit, political candidate, political party, or other membership group to help them build their community. Apparently, its deal to provide a group helping Republicans in state level offices has drawn calls from Democratic activists to boycott the firm's services, just because they are providing services to candidates across the aisle. The WSJ reports that some of the biggest firms in technology, including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, even employ separate sales forces to call on Republican and Democratic customers.

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