Tele-Town Hall Meetings Provide Virtual Political Conferences
By Lee Simonson
Tele-Town Hall meetings provide virtual political conferences for elected officials and are an ideal way to engage the public, take instant surveys and enable people to provide their input on major issues from the convenience of their homes. Tele-Town Hall meeting technology has become a very popular service, used primarily by U.S. Senators and Congressmen who want to keep in touch with voters back home. Rather than fly back to districts and speak to a few constituents at a series of regular town hall meetings, elected officials in Washington can save taxpayers time and money by staying in their office and connecting with tens of thousands of constituents at once. It's much less expensive, more effective and officials can dedicate these virtual teleconferences to specific topics, without getting side tracked by other issues.
For example, one New York congressman who uses the service twice a month, lets his constituents know ahead of time what the topics he plans on discussing. If they are interested, they can dial in and join the conference call. They can even sign up online. Not only that but the congressman can select certain topics for specific groups. One night, he might discuss health care reform with senior citizens in his district, and during the next Tele-Town Hall he might discuss financial service reform. He specializes in calling senior citizens in their homes since that group has the most difficult time getting out to regular town hall meetings. Tele-Town Halls can be conducted in any weather condition and voters can participate from their own homes without having to drive or worry about getting back and forth to regular meetings.
His website message invites participation by saying, "Your input has played a critical role in my efforts to ensure Western New Yorkers' voices are heard in the important debates going on in Washington. Town hall meetings by telephone are a critical component of my efforts to keep in touch with Western New Yorkers." Because of the effectiveness of these virtual meetings that invite constituents to "opt-in" over the phone, more and more state legislators, county and local officials are adopting Tele-Town Hall as a preferred method to reach out and interact with the public.
The set up is relatively easy and fast. Officials just upload their list of phone numbers online. The system then begins to call each number -- hundreds at a time -- inviting people to join the conference or just hang up. Those who join are instantly and automatically put into the Tele Town Hall conference and can begin listening. The official can see on his computer monitor how many people he or she is talking to at any given moment in real time, as people join or disconnect from the call. If the official is taking questions, voters are given instructions on how engage the official with a personal question. Questions can be screened and the official can keep the discussion focused and on target.
Better yet, national, state and local officials can conduct real time surveys simply by asking a question and having voters push a number on their keypads at home. Results are instantly tabulated and can even be downloaded later so officials can look at general numbers, or "drill down" and see how specific counties, towns or neighborhoods responded to the poll. All in all, Tele-Town Hall mass teleconferences are coming on strong as officials adopt new ways to use advancing technology to keep in touch with geographically diverse voter bases. To be able to speak with 100,000 constituents at the same time is a major advantage, not only for the official who wants to reach out to a large group over a short time, but for the voters as well who may have the best opportunity to hear and speak with their official in the comfort of their own home.
For more information on how the Tele Town Hall service works, click here: http://www.orangepoint.net/town_hall_teleconference.html
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