DASHBOARD

Your Dashboard is your home base in PartyBuilder. It helps you keep things organized and simple. It serves as a starting point for the rest of the PartyBuilder tools, and you can get to almost anywhere you need to go with only one or two clicks.

Each box is used to represent a piece of the PartyBuilder package. You'll see in the upper lefthand corner your profile box, where you can manage your PartyBuilder profile. To the right of that, you'll see the network of friends you've developed. Below, you'll find a list of all of the groups you're a member of, just beside the box for events, which shows you the event closest to you and any events you're hosting or attending. Below that are your three most recent blog posts, next to all of your fundraising campaigns (complete with your master total for all fundraising you've done), and a few active letter to the editor campaigns.

MY FRIENDS

Your PartyBuilder Network is your personal network of friends and family who you've either invited to use PartyBuilder, or those who already use PartyBuilder. You make friends by sending invitations to people, or by asking someone to be your friend on their profile page (just click "Add user to your friends network" on their profile page). Once you've invited a user to be your friend, you'll see their pending status until they accept or deny your request. You'll see requests people make of you in the "Friend Requests" box, and you can simply click "Accept" or "Deny" depending on your decision.

Once you have a network of friends, you can keep in touch by using the integrated messaging system. The My Friends section keep track of all of the messages you've sent to your friends, and their replies. To write a message, select "Compose." From there, you can write your message and select the people who you want to send it to. You can also send messages to your friends by also clicking the "Send a message to user" link on their profile page. To send a message to those who aren't your friend, you can click the same link if they allow for non-friends to send messages to them. You can always reply to or delete old messages as well.

You can always manage how people are allowed to contact you through the PartyBuilder system. For the three groups of user relationships you have with people – friends, friends of friends, and unrelated – you have three settings. You can deny all messages, allow messages and get an email when someone messages you, or allow messages but do not get an email when someone messages you. You can customize each setting for each group of people.

If you ever find a profile that you consider to be out of line, just click on "report to admin" and we'll take a look.

FIND PEOPLE

If you're trying to find other Democrats in your area or trying to connect with someone who has a PartyBuilder profile, this is where you can do it. The Search page has a few handy shortcut links, including saved searches for people around you and people in your groups.

If you don't want to be searchable, you can always opt-out by un-checking the appropriate box on the "Edit Your Profile" page. Most people want to stay in the search results so that their friends and others can find them. Searching for people in your area is a great way to meet other Democrats build up a strong local network dedicated to furthering Democratic ideals.

GROUPS

The Groups page is a portal into the many social networks Democrats have. Some groups are formal, some have nothing to do with politics at all. For example, your local Democratic candidate may have a group set up to organize supporters and help connect them with constituents. But another group may be dedicated to informal precinct organizing, saving a local park from development, a discussion on national security, or even college football. If you can't find a group you're looking for, you can create one in less than a minute.

There are a few things on the main Groups page...

• You'll see a list of any group you belong to.
• You'll see a search form to help you find more groups to join (or to see if there's already a group dedicated to your cause before you create one yourself).
• You'll see the list of categories that help keep track of the many different types of groups that exist.
• You'll see some links to quick searches you can do that may help you find a group you're interested in.
• You'll find a box where you can start a group. And...
• You'll see a box where you can again search for users.

Joining a group is simple. Once you find a group you want to join, simply click the "Join Group" button. If the group administrator has decided to review members before they join, you may have to wait a short time for approval. If not, you'll be a member of the group right away.

Once you're in a group, you can easily leave by clicking the "Leave Group" button. You can help expand the group's member list by inviting others to join as well. If the group's listserv volume is too high for your inbox, you can always remove yourself by clicking "Remove me from Listserv" but remain a member of the group. To send an email to the group listserv, note the address on the group page (it'll be something like groupname@groups.democrats.org). You'll need to use the same email address that you use to login to PartyBuilder with so non-members can't send messages to the listserv. Administrators may decide to review emails for larger groups, so be aware that your email may not go to the full group right away.

You'll notice that once you're a group member, you'll also have the option of posting your blog entries or events to the group. Simply check the box next to the group name when you're saving your post or event, and it will be assigned to both you and the group. Again, you may have to wait for approval if the group administrator has decided to review blog posts or events.

If you want to start a group, simply type the name you'd like in the box provided on the main Groups page and click "Start Group." From there, you'll be taken to a simple page where you can fill in the details about your group. You can put up a picture or upload your logo, give a description, and set the administrative controls you'd like to have for members.

Depending on how large you think your group will become, you can set some rules. Once you group has other members, you have the ability to make them administrators so they can help you keep things under control. When you're setting up your group (or even after, if you want to change the settings) you can decide whether or not someone needs permission from you or an administrator to join, to assign their blog posts to your group, to assign their events to your group, and whether they can send emails to your group listserv.

EVENTS

The Events tool lets you create and manage your own real-world events in the PartyBuilder system. Organize a rally, a canvass, a picnic, a party...anything. You can either make your events public and share them with other users, or you can keep them private and invite only your friends and family.

Finding events is simple: type in your zip code or select your state and click search. If you want, you can click on "Go to advanced search" to help you find something specific. If you find an event you want to attend, you can RSVP at the bottom of the event listing. Be sure to note how many guests you're bringing so the host can plan accordingly.

Creating an event is simple as well. Enter your zip code and select the category that best fits your event and click "create." From there, you'll be able to fill in the details of your event. Some options may or may not appear based on the type of event you're creating. For instance, if you were creating a campaign event, we ask for (but do not require) a phone number so someone from a campaign can get in touch with you. Other times we may ask you for a separate shipping address so we can send you materials.

If you've signed up to attend an event or created one of your own, you'll be able to keep track of everything from the "Manage Your Events" section. You'll see a list of events you're attending or hosting in the future or from the past. If you're a host, you'll always have the ability to contact those who have signed up.

PERSONAL FUNDRAISING

The Fundraising tool allows you to take control of the Party's financial picture by asking your friends, family and even strangers to contribute through your PartyBuilder Fundraising Page. The Fundraising tool includes an intuitive interface that allows you to send invitations, schedule a follow-up email, and send a thank you message as soon as someone contributes.

The fundraising system allows you to set up multiple pages or campaigns through PartyBuilder, but allows you to see one master fundraising total. That way, you can set up a page for the upcoming election, set up a page for Democracy Bonds, or set up a page for people to contribute to the Party for your birthday, and you'll be able to see both the totals for each campaign and a grand total.

Each campaign allows you to set a separate goal. To edit your goal, click on the "Edit Page" button from the campaign interface. On the same page, you'll be able to edit your page title, your page text, upload a picture and provide a caption.

Once you set up your campaign, you'll be able to send invitations to people. The invitation includes a link to your own page, so you don't need to worry about that. Once you send your invitations, you'll see a progress section for each person you've invited on the administration page for your campaign. It will prompt you to remind people, track when they contribute, and remind you to thank them as soon as they do. Your thermometer will be updated automatically and you'll receive an email within five minutes of someone making a contribution.

On your PartyBuilder Dashboard, you'll be able to keep track of all of your campaigns in one place, as well as easily see how much you've raised in total. The Dashboard will also let you know when you should send a reminder or thank someone.

PETITIONS

The Petitions section allows you to add your voice and comments in support of or in opposition to many key political or policy issues. Petitions are very simple: Browse through those petitions with which you agree, and add your name. Once you do, be sure to invite your like-minded friends who may have an interest in doing the same.

Keep an eye on the petitions section for regular updates and enhancements...

LETTERS

The Letters section allows you to quickly and easily write letters to the editors of national, regional and local newspapers. You can always use the Letters tool to write about whatever you want, but we do provide useful points for various issues if you want some tips. To get started, simply enter your zip code or click on your issue, then enter your zip code. The simple process will allow you to enter your name and address, write your letter, select which newspapers will get it, and then review everything before you click send.

BLOGS

Community Blogs on Democrats.org are designed to give a voice to the millions of Democrats across the country who have something to say about the direction of their country and their Party. When you first click on the Blogs tab, you'll see the posts PartyBuilder users have added in descending order. From any part of the Blogs section, you'll see a list of the highest rated posts, the most recent posts, and a tag cloud to the right.

Posting an entry to your PartyBuilder blog is easy. From anywhere in the blogs section, click the "Write a Post" link at the top of the page, just below the other tabs. If you've never written a post before, you'll have to take a second to fill in a couple of details first, including writing a short description of your blog (you can always change everything later). Once you've done that, you're set. The various fields available when you're writing are pretty straightforward. There's your title, the body of your post, an extended post text box for posts that are long, a box where you can set your post to a public publish mode or to a saved draft state, a tagging system (more on that below), and the list of groups you belong to so that you can assign your post to any of your groups. You're able to preview your post before it goes up, and when you're ready, it takes just a second to put your thoughts online.

If you ever need to go back and edit a post, or to change a post's status from draft to live, you can do that by clicking on the "Manage" link. From there, you'll see a listing of your posts, their status, and a button where you can edit or delete each post. If you don't see a post you're looking for, be sure that you have the correct time frame selected in the drop-down above the post list.

A tag is a small but powerful snippet of text (one word or a few words, at most) that can categorize every post in PartyBuilder. Through tagging, people can collaborate to sort posts by shared ideas and characteristics. A tag cloud is a visual representation of those tags people have used in that distributed categorization of information. The larger the word and link, the more people are using that tag with their posts.

Tagging in PartyBuilder is very simple. For example, if you were writing a post about Jon Tester, you may use the tags "Jon Tester," "Montana," "Senate," and "2006 Elections." You can separate multiple tags by a comma, and don't need to worry about spaces in between multi-word tags (like "Jon Tester").

When you're adding tags to your post, you may notice that a box pops up just beneath where you're typing with tag suggestions. If one of the suggestions is similar to what you're writing, you should try to use it. For example, if you're writing a post with the tags "testing," you may see "test" pop up in the box below. The number in parentheses next to the word is the total number of posts that have the same tag. Trying to coordinate tags is a good way to make sure everyone's information is easy to find for those looking for posts about a particular topic. From time to time, you may notice that some of your tags change, and it may be because site administrators are merging similar tags to help consolidate similar posts.

When you write your post, keep in mind that there are always helpful tagging tips available to you by clicking "Learn More" just below the tag box. The tips open in a new window so you won't lose your post.

To read any of the posts or view any of the authors blogs, click on the appropriate link. To sort all posts on PartyBuilder by a particular tag, click on the word you want in the tag cloud.