Lee Listens is MindMixer’s first legislator-specific website. Screenshot from leelistens.com
The expansion that the MindMixer team hinted was imminent when we checked in with them last month became official today, as U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, a Republican from Nebraska’s second district, announced the launch of the website Lee Listens in collaboration with MindMixer.
Terry is the first legislator to have an individual page powered by MindMixer, an Omaha-based company that creates and manages virtual town halls. Until now, MindMixer has worked with cities and special causes, but the move to legislator-specific pages was always part of the company’s plan, according to co-founder and CEO Nick Bowden.
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“MindMixer was designed to be a way for elected officials to better connect, listen, and communicate with their constituents,” said Bowden (left, photo from mindmixer.com), “so this new market is really an extension of that vision.”
Terry’s site has the same basic features and functionality as MindMixer’s city- and cause-centric sites, but with different topics for discussion. Bowden said Terry’s office expressed excitement over the site’s ability to help the congressman communicate with his constituents in a town hall setting despite the physical distance separating them.
“Federal legislators have a unique challenge connecting with folks locally given they spend a significant amount of time in Washington,” Bowden said, “so having an ‘always-on’ option for people to suggest ideas about improving our district and our country is something he is particularly anxious to explore.”
Bowden said that Terry is the only legislator utilizing a web-based feedback platform like MindMixer. Currently, Bowden said, telephone town halls are the most common form of interaction between legislators and their constituents.
“I believe three years ago, only a handful of legislators were using telephone town halls,” Bowden said, “now over 400 are using them on a regular basis. We are hopeful that a similar trend occurs with virtual town halls.”
Bowden declined to comment on other legislator sites MindMixer has in the works, but he said the company has other big announcements about new MindMixer clients coming soon and is planning “several major features upgrades” in the next 60 days.
Check back on Silicon Prairie News in the coming weeks for the latest on MindMixer.
