ABSTRACT

Nicco Mele, the Dean for America webmaster, came to the campaign with more political experience and more technical experience than many others. But his first mode of contact with the campaign—of his own accord running a Google ad to help Googlers find Dean’s then-obscure website—was an archetypal example of the many spontaneous acts of support that came to the campaign from the outside. His discussion of the process of redesigning the website illustrates the often chaotic and creative character of the campaign, as well as some of the difficult structural questions, such as the tension between a polished design and one that looks “grassroots.”