I'm working on a startup called postdot [1] that allows you to send physical mail the same way you'd send email. Would it be possible for us to help you add a feature to send a physical letter to your representatives?
Sweet, I was hoping someone would make something like this!
The thing that inhibits me from using your site is that I don't understand 100% what it does / how it does it, and how much it costs.
I'd add A LOT more meat to your landing page.
I want to know
* What am I allowed to print? Show me examples of all the stuff I can do
* Can I create campaigns, where it is automatically scheduled to send X on Jan 1st, Y on Feb 1st, etc..
* Can I have trinkets / widgets delivered to you guys and you combine that into one mailing?
* I definitely want to be sure the printed thing looks like how I intended it to be. How will you do this? I would like it if I got the mail piece scanned or photographed (as a review copy, before it is scheduled to be sent) and emailed to me.
* What's the cost? You don't have to do all the stuff above for free. You can charge a fee for everything, e.g. $1-$5 per trinket that has to be processed, $10-$20 for a review copy photo / scan. What's the cost per print + mailing? Can I choose the mailing speed (e.g. FedEx overnight, UPS 3-day ground, etc.)?
While it might not be the best feature-set for this specific startup, those are features that I would be looking for if I wanted to use this for my business.
However, the "About" page makes it very clear that this is nothing more than a project (not a business), so adding the feature request would likely take more time than it would bring in dollars.
Hey, I couldn't find any contact info on your site, but this is something I would definitely like to learn more about. I'm working on a different project to help fight state surveillance, and sending physical mail could be a hugely useful feature. Could you email me jeff@rubbingalcoholic.com
A platform play for "Snail-Mail as a Service (SMAAS)"!
I love the idea, but most of my outgoing mail requires that I send along a specific piece of paper. Most of my bills can be paid on-line now, but my quarterly income/tax declarations require a coupon that's 1/4 letter size.
I suppose it's the signature they really want (though my account details are on there too and for some people, that eliminates incoming payments that can't be read due to illegible hand-writing).
Hey, just a heads up: I went and poked around the site a bit and after submitting a blank form within the "Order Summary" modal, I got the following traceback page:
"You're seeing this error because you have DEBUG = True in your Django settings file. Change that to False, and Django will display a standard 500 page."
Love the idea, but I don't really get the recipient field - whichever (valid) address I put in, I get an error. I also think it's a bit unclear on what should be entered here, a post/zip code, company name, etc.?
Indeed, I hope they add the mail option, and get rid of the email option. Too many people will default to it (sending an email is much easier than placing a call) and as far as I recall, most representtatives don't tally "concerns raised via email" like they do for phone and mail (mostly because they have to open their mail, and take their calls, but they can just sit on email forever without the box getting "full.")
I don't think a form letter has much over a form email. Lots of advocacy groups already let you send a postcard with one click. (Though, in theory, both should get logged in the system. Whether or not the member cares is another issue.)
A call or a letter/email you write and send yourself will be much more impactful.
In theory, both should get logged in the system. In practice, though, (I've seen this question answered in a lot of AMAs by congressmen et al.), they simply don't treat email as a constituency channel.
The amount of attention your representatives tend to give your issue is directly proportional to the amount of time you can force them to spend listening. You can filter an email; you can skim a letter; you have to listen to a call all the way through. The best thing, though, is to set up an appointment, and talk to them in person.
It's pretty easy to "filter" a stack of more-or-less identical postcards, but otherwise I agree.
It's almost a truism: if you want to show that you care... spend the time to show that you care. I actually think it's really cool that you can walk right into the office of your Congressman or Senator. Obviously you won't get past the interns if you don't have an appointment, but still... pretty cool.
There is a callOnly flag for the widget that I really recommend people use. In brief there was a lot of debate over whether emails should be included at all, and the flag was the compromise. Some orgs, for example the EFF, will be promoting the call-only flag when they distribute the code.
I'm in the advocacy space and you aren't collecting enough information to deliver the emails to Congress, the web forms require many other pieces of information like a title (Mr./Mrs. etc) and often a phone number. Better to take off the email option than mislead the public that it will be delivered.
[1] http://postdot.org