Resistbot: Difference between revisions
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| founder = Eric Ries and Jason Putorti |
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| purpose = Civic engagement |
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| headquarters = San Fransisco |
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| location = Prague Municipal District, Czech Republic |
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| services = Delivering letters or calls to elected officials in the U.S. Congress or state Governors, checking voter registrations, finding polling places, voter registration, and other civic services. |
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''' |
'''Resistbot''' is software that allows people in the United States to send letters to Congress in under two minutes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://resist.bot/|title=Resistbot|website=resist.bot|df=mdy-all}}</ref> It provides information that identifies a user's congressional representative in response to the user's texted request for the information. It then provides a platform to deliver messages and letters to representatives and local newspapers via Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Telegram, and SMS. In addition, the Resistbot service allows users to look up their voter registration, locate town halls, find ways to volunteer, locate their polling place, and many other civic actions.<ref name=":0" /> Resistbot is funded largely by small-dollar donations, and built and operated by volunteers. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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Resistbot was established by [[Eric Ries]] and Jason Putorti in January 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.jweekly.com/2017/10/16/meet-startup-expert-wrote-resistbot-spare-time/|title=Meet the startup expert who wrote Resistbot in his spare time – J.|date=2017-10-16|work=J.|access-date=2018-04-21|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Though the program was founded to oppose the actions of the [[Presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/resistbot-faxes-texts-to-senators|title=This Bot Turns Your Texts Into Faxes to Elected Officials|last=Webster|first=Emma Sarran|work=Teen Vogue|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en}}</ref> it functions as an un-biased channel, allowing users to compose their own messages. Unlike many other advocacy efforts, it provides no scripts to users.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3069103/resistbot-turns-your-angry-trump-texts-into-faxes-to-congress|title=Resistbot Turns Your Angry Trump Texts Into Faxes To Congress|date=2017-03-28|work=Fast Company|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en-US}}</ref> Donations from users pay for postage for letters and voter registration forms, faxes and calls to officials, and texts between the users and the service. |
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== How |
== How Resistbot works == |
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Users text the word "resist" to 50409, and simply follow the prompts that follow.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/05/03/pitt-grad-resistbot-congress/|title=Pitt Grad Develops Fast Way To Communicate Views To Congress|date=2017-05-03|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en}}</ref> If a user wants to write one of their officials, Resistbot will ask for their address to find out who represents them in Congress, ask for the user to type out the letter they want to send, and delivers the message via electronic delivery, fax, or postal mail, depending on what method is available. Users may also use Facebook Messenger, Twitter, or Telegram to use the service. Resistbot is free to use,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/resistbot-faxes-politicians_us_58d8a426e4b03692bea70829|title=Technology Gets Political: Upstart Resistbot Faxes Lawmakers For You|last=Papenfuss|first=Mary|date=2017-03-27|work=Huffington Post|access-date=2018-04-11|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and does not require an app download. When Resistbot began, letters were faxed<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3069103/resistbot-turns-your-angry-trump-texts-into-faxes-to-congress|title=Resistbot Turns Your Angry Trump Texts Into Faxes To Congress|date=2017-03-28|work=Fast Company|access-date=2018-03-23|df=mdy-all}}</ref> to officials' offices. However, as the program received more heavy usage, and officials started to unplug their fax machines, it switched to electronic delivery as a primary channel, with faxes, postal letters, and hand deliveries as secondary methods. Between June 21 and 22 alone, Resistbot volunteers delivered 12,781 letters to the U.S. Senate, largely about family separation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://dcist.com/2018/07/resistbot_washingtonians_deliver_capitol_hill_letters.php|title=These Washingtonians Spend Their Lunch Hours Delivering Letters To Other People's Senators|work=DCist|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en-US}}</ref> Those letters represented only a small sample of deliveries overall. |
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== Usage and reception == |
== Usage and reception == |
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Resistbot has been featured on many news and magazine sites including ''[[Recode]]'', ''[[Teen Vogue]]'', [[Fast Company (magazine)|''Fast Company'']], ''[[Engadget]]'', ''[[GOOD]]'', [[The Guardian|''The Guardian'']], [[Miami Herald|''The Miami Herald'']], and ''[[Huffington post|Huffington Post]]''. In an interview with ''Recode'', Putorti acknowledged that though the product's main purpose was to voice those in opposition to the Trump Presidency, the system delivers all messages without regard to political views.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.recode.net/2017/3/9/14865882/resistbot-texts-faxes-senators-representatives|title=Resistbot helps voters oppose Trump by faxing their text messages to Congressional reps|work=Recode|access-date=2018-04-21}}</ref> Resistbot's twitter feed features many responses by members of Congress to users who have sent messages through the software<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/i/moments/864236860171853824|title=Congress Writes Back|website=Twitter|language=en|access-date=2018-10-24}}</ref>. It was called, "The Most Genius Thing Of 2017" by GOOD magazine.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.good.is/articles/anti-trump-tech|title=This New Anti-Trump Tech Is The Most Genius Thing Of 2017|date=2017-07-23|work=GOOD|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en}}</ref> |
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In November 2017, |
In November 2017, Resistbot was used as a channel by ''Medium Magazine'' to push [[Net Neutrality]] letters to Congress. The article published seven letter templates for readers to send to their representatives in favor of net neutrality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/words-for-life/7-net-neutrality-letters-you-can-send-to-resistbot-today-7ff46d772afe|title=7 Net Neutrality Letters You Can Send To Resistbot Today|last=Trayser|first=Luke|date=2017-11-22|website=Medium|access-date=2018-04-21}}</ref> In January 2018, ''The Peace Report'' published an article pushing its users to send letters to government officials through Resistbot in order to oppose the construction of two new military bases in Okinawa.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thepeacereport.com/nobaseresistbot/|title=Say NO to New U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa|date=2018-01-10|work=The Peace Report|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-US}}</ref> The article contained a letter template for readers to copy and paste to Congress representatives. In February 2018, [[WUSA (TV)|WUSA TV]] fact checked and verified that texting "NRA" to Resistbot would tell users how their officials had benefited, or been hurt by, NRA contributions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/verify/verify-text-reveals-nra-political-contributions-to-elected-officials/65-522285283|title=VERIFY: Text reveals NRA political contributions to elected officials?|work=WUSA|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2018, [[InStyle Magazine|''InStyle Magazine'']] listed it as a way to "make your voice heard," regarding the nomination of [[Brett Kavanaugh]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.instyle.com/news/how-you-can-make-your-voice-heard-amid-kavanaugh-investigation|title=Here's How You Can Make Your Voice Heard Amid the Kavanaugh Investigation|work=InStyle.com|access-date=2018-10-24|language=en}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 22:39, 24 October 2018
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2018) |
 Co-Founder Eric Ries speaking at the London Lean Startup conference | |
| Founder | Eric Ries and Jason Putorti |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Civic engagement |
| Services | Delivering letters or calls to elected officials in the U.S. Congress or state Governors, checking voter registrations, finding polling places, voter registration, and other civic services. |
| Website | resist |
Resistbot is software that allows people in the United States to send letters to Congress in under two minutes.[1] It provides information that identifies a user's congressional representative in response to the user's texted request for the information. It then provides a platform to deliver messages and letters to representatives and local newspapers via Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Telegram, and SMS. In addition, the Resistbot service allows users to look up their voter registration, locate town halls, find ways to volunteer, locate their polling place, and many other civic actions.[1] Resistbot is funded largely by small-dollar donations, and built and operated by volunteers.
History
Resistbot was established by Eric Ries and Jason Putorti in January 2017.[2] Though the program was founded to oppose the actions of the Trump administration,[3] it functions as an un-biased channel, allowing users to compose their own messages. Unlike many other advocacy efforts, it provides no scripts to users.[4] Donations from users pay for postage for letters and voter registration forms, faxes and calls to officials, and texts between the users and the service.
How Resistbot works
Users text the word "resist" to 50409, and simply follow the prompts that follow.[5] If a user wants to write one of their officials, Resistbot will ask for their address to find out who represents them in Congress, ask for the user to type out the letter they want to send, and delivers the message via electronic delivery, fax, or postal mail, depending on what method is available. Users may also use Facebook Messenger, Twitter, or Telegram to use the service. Resistbot is free to use,[6] and does not require an app download. When Resistbot began, letters were faxed[7] to officials' offices. However, as the program received more heavy usage, and officials started to unplug their fax machines, it switched to electronic delivery as a primary channel, with faxes, postal letters, and hand deliveries as secondary methods. Between June 21 and 22 alone, Resistbot volunteers delivered 12,781 letters to the U.S. Senate, largely about family separation.[8] Those letters represented only a small sample of deliveries overall.
Usage and reception
Resistbot has been featured on many news and magazine sites including Recode, Teen Vogue, Fast Company, Engadget, GOOD, The Guardian, The Miami Herald, and Huffington Post. In an interview with Recode, Putorti acknowledged that though the product's main purpose was to voice those in opposition to the Trump Presidency, the system delivers all messages without regard to political views.[9] Resistbot's twitter feed features many responses by members of Congress to users who have sent messages through the software[10]. It was called, "The Most Genius Thing Of 2017" by GOOD magazine.[11]
In November 2017, Resistbot was used as a channel by Medium Magazine to push Net Neutrality letters to Congress. The article published seven letter templates for readers to send to their representatives in favor of net neutrality.[12] In January 2018, The Peace Report published an article pushing its users to send letters to government officials through Resistbot in order to oppose the construction of two new military bases in Okinawa.[13] The article contained a letter template for readers to copy and paste to Congress representatives. In February 2018, WUSA TV fact checked and verified that texting "NRA" to Resistbot would tell users how their officials had benefited, or been hurt by, NRA contributions.[14] In September 2018, InStyle Magazine listed it as a way to "make your voice heard," regarding the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.[15]
References
- ^ a b "Resistbot". resist.bot.
- ^ "Meet the startup expert who wrote Resistbot in his spare time – J." J. October 16, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ Webster, Emma Sarran. "This Bot Turns Your Texts Into Faxes to Elected Officials". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "Resistbot Turns Your Angry Trump Texts Into Faxes To Congress". Fast Company. 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "Pitt Grad Develops Fast Way To Communicate Views To Congress". 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
{{cite news}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 52 (help) - ^ Papenfuss, Mary (March 27, 2017). "Technology Gets Political: Upstart Resistbot Faxes Lawmakers For You". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Resistbot Turns Your Angry Trump Texts Into Faxes To Congress". Fast Company. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "These Washingtonians Spend Their Lunch Hours Delivering Letters To Other People's Senators". DCist. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "Resistbot helps voters oppose Trump by faxing their text messages to Congressional reps". Recode. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^ "Congress Writes Back". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "This New Anti-Trump Tech Is The Most Genius Thing Of 2017". GOOD. 2017-07-23. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ Trayser, Luke (2017-11-22). "7 Net Neutrality Letters You Can Send To Resistbot Today". Medium. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^ "Say NO to New U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa". The Peace Report. 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^ "VERIFY: Text reveals NRA political contributions to elected officials?". WUSA. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "Here's How You Can Make Your Voice Heard Amid the Kavanaugh Investigation". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2018-10-24.