Received email we're up to 64 in just a couple of days. Nice, for just ECF and FB. I'm trying to think of something creative to do to get it to spread like a chain letter, let me know if you think of something....I don't think a national party will be scared of losing 64 voters.
ECF is not the only ecig forum. There are several others. Reddit electronic cigarettes forum I think is larger than ECF and very proactive. There's a ton of vendors participating there. Another avenue is to post on "Deals and Steals" which is Vapor Joes Facebook forum. I personally have seen over 1,000 hits just from a single post there. It's a closed group, so let me know if you need someone to post it there for you and I'll do it.
It's a well written appeal, so don't be shy about it. Submit it to several shows and review sites. Spinfuel, Steve K's, Mod Envy, Gimme Green, and there's probably a good 20+ more. I'm sure Calivapers would have an interest too. Also target some California vendors; Sun-Vapes, Nude Nicotine, Envision, there's another nic vendor that I can never remember. Tons of b&m's that you can send a message to through Facebook. If only 1/4 of them chose to participate, that's a lot. I'd also look at location specific vape meets. Most of them have a Facebook presence. You'd want to contact the administrator for permission to post first with local groups. There's a number of states with a heightened awareness of regulations that would affect them; it looks like Oregon and Rhode Island are under attack - start there. Oregon is a blue state (currently).
I'm just brainstorming here. I don't know about Google but I know there are ways to get it near the top based on keywords, etc.
My general observation is that Dem's are "spineless" which IMO is sometimes a good thing. If there is popular pressure, they will back off. They are more committed to "science" (Waxmen = Union of Concerned Scientists, however he is retiring this year). Wyland (D-Or) has taken a strong stance against corporate interests with net neutrality / copyright issues. All it takes is reaching one with the truth. In Az, we've been semi-protected by the owner of NJoy (of all people) who is very active in state lobbying efforts. The "public health" advocates were nullified against his lobby. Strange bedfellows.
California's got an advocate with addiction experts. Ask them to help.
Like I said, I'm just brainstorming. All ideas are wothwhile at this point. What I think it's going to come down to is that each one of us need to become lobbyists and that includes making courtesy visits to local representives in person. Maybe carry a few starter kits to hand out to staffers that might be still smoking with a stack of business cards from b&m's offering eliquids. The cigar lobby acheived an excemption in the past by appearing at fundraising events, visiting reps and handing out cigars - which somehow proved they were a "handcrafted" item vs. mass produced item from tobacco corporations. It appears to have worked. The ecig industry needs to seperate itself from tobacco corporations in this case. They do not represent vapers and should not be the only voice at the table - which right now it appears they are.
