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7.2 Step 2: Prepare your Action

If you completed Step 1, you should be ready to prepare all the materials for your Action. You should know:

• Who you are talking to? If you know this: You might create a Sublist of who you are talking to, or a View for Pebblings to enter the data of who they talked to.
• What Media are you going to use to talk to them? If you know this:
• You might create an Article to use as literature, or a special page on your website people can visit for more information.
• Who are the Pebblings that are going to deliver the Media? If you know this, you will need to determine what Pebblings will perform the Action, or if anyone can perform the Action. If only Pebblings can perform the Action, you will need to make a Pebbling group. If anyone can perform the Action–what we call an Open Action–you will want to publish it on the website so people can RSVP.
• What Media do the Pebblings need to deliver the Message? If you know this, You might create a Script for your Pebblings to use if they are making phone calls or canvassing, for example.
• What do I want the Pebbling to report back? If you know this, you might need a signup form, or even a way for Pebblings to enter information online about their event.
• Where is the Action being performed? Is the organization performing the Action, for example a “Rally on the Park”? Or are you asking others to sign up and determine their own locations to perform the Action. “Create your own House Party,” for example.

If you answer the questions above, you will realize there are only a few materials you actually might need to prepare for an Action:

1.A Pebbling group

If you know, by name, some of the people you want to perform the Action, you'll want to make a Pebbling group to assign it to. (If anyone can participate, you can make the Action an Open Action. You can also have both, allow anyone to participate but still assign a Pebbling Group

2.A Sublist

If you can make a list of who you need to contact, get them into your Big List and make a Sublist of them so you can code your results.

3.A View

If you have a Sublist, make sure you make a View of that Sublist so that the people performing that Action can View and edit (sometimes called code) the right information. Or, if people are reporting back information they collect that is entirely new, give them a View for Data Entry.

4.Articles and Scripts

If you have some material you want your Pebblings to use, or a Script, you will need to make some Articles.

Example Actions

If you're pretty certain of all the materials you need to prepare, but not certain how to set up an Action, we provide an example of each Action Type. If you need to review each Action type, please see the Section 3: Overview.

Example Action: Open Action – Holding an Event

In this example a campaign is holding an event—a visibility on Main Street at the Square to raise awareness. They want as many Pebblings to show up and hold signs and talk to any one who passes by. If you want, you can follow along on your own Pebble by creating a new Action that mirrors the below.

John, the Pebbler, starts putting together what he needs. For this Action he'll need:

• Some literature to hand out
• Some talking points for the people attending
• Some instructions

Under Message and Media , he creates three Articles . One for each of the above. He adds all three items to his Pebble's Workbench so he can attach them to his Action's Pebbling Kit .

He also wants all his Pebblings to see this Action on their “My Action” when they log in, so he adds the “All Pebblings” Pebbling group to the workbench as well, so he can add them to the Action.

With all of his materials ready, John is now ready to create his Action . He goes to Create New Action and begins to fill out the information as follows:

Choose Action Type

Type = Open

Action Essentials

• Name = Visibility on Main Street
• Date = January 1, 2010
• Location = Main Street Square
• Description = Join us for a great visibility to get the word out. Free Lemonade!

The Work

Because it is an Open Action, no one who RSVPs will need access to the Big List and therefore, there are no options for the Work. If John wanted someone to enter data or edit data on the Big List, he would choose either a List Based or Pebbling Created Action.

Pebblings

Pebbling Group = All Pebblings

Pebbling Kit

• Add Article or Script = John's Literature
• Add Article or Script = John's Talking Points for the People Attending
• Add Article or Script = John's Instructions for His Pebblings

RSVP and Website

• Publish on Website = Yes
• Accept RSVPs = Yes

Status = Active

John's action is live, but he still wants to get it on his website. It is pretty important, and so he goes to the Page Listing of his website, chooses the Index Page, the Feature Section, and clicks “Add Module”. He then clicks “Action” and chooses his action so it appears.

What a Pebbling in the chosen Pebbling Group would see regarding this Action

An approved Pebbling would see this on the website along with a button to RSVP. They would also see it on their “My Actions” screen as John chose the Pebbling Group “All Pebblings.” On their “My Action” screen they would see the details (date, time, and location) for the Action. They would also see links to the Literature, Talking Points, and Instructions John Created.

What an unregistered user or Pebbling not assigned this Action sees regarding this Action

As an Open Action, an unregistered user or Pebbling not assigned this Action would see this on the Website and could RSVP. At that point, they would see it on their My Actions Screen along with links to see the Literature, Talking Points, and Instructions.

Example Action: List-Based Action

John wants to create a phonebank for his Pebblings to be able to access and edit from their own homes. In this case, he wants them to login to their My Actions page and be able to have the Pebblings “Get Some Work” and call some likely voters in town.

John, the Pebbler starts getting together what he needs. For this Action he'll need:

• A phone Script for his Pebblings
• Some additional talking points in case the people being called ask more questions
• Some instructions for his Pebblings
• A Sublist of the likely voters he wants to call.
• A View of the Sublist so that people only see the information pertinent to the Action.

So John, knowing what he needs puts together this Action's materials.

1.Goes to Pebblings and creates a new Pebbling Group called Phonebank. He then adds the five Pebblings he wants to make the calls to his Pebbling Group.

2.Under Message and Media , he creates three Articles –one for each of the above. He adds all three items to his Pebble's Workbench so he can attach them to his Action's Pebbling Kit .

3.He searches his Big List and creates a Sublist of likely voters. He adds this Sublist to his Workbench.

John has the Voter File, and ran a search for the people who voted in the last election. You might not have this type of data, but you may be able to get it. See the Community Section of Organizing 101 for more information.

4.He only wants his Pebblings to be able to see the most essential information for completing this Action, so John creates a new View . He calls it “Phonebank” and adds the following Fields:

• First Name, Edit = No
• Last Name, Edit = No
• Phone, Edit = No
• Supporter, Edit = Yes
• Call Result, Edit = Yes

Once complete, John adds the View to the Workbench .

Note: John created the custom fields Supporter and Call result. The others are aPebble generated fields. In supporter he wants his Pebblings to check whether or not someone is a supporter. In Call Result, he flags information such as “Do Not Call” or “Wrong Number.”

With all of his materials ready, John is now ready to create his Action . He goes to Create New Action and begins to fill out the information as follows:

Choose Action Type

• Type = List Based
• Action Essentials
• Name = Phoning Likely Voters
• Date = January 1, 2010

Location = Home-Based

item Description = I'm putting up a list of likely voters to call. Please call as many as you can tonight!

The Work

• Sublist = Likely Voters
• View = Phonebank
• Goal Field = Support
• Auxiliary Field = Call Result

Pebblings

Pebbling Group = Phonebank

Pebbling Kit

• Add Article or Script = John's Literature
• Add Article or Script = John's Talking Points for the People Attending
• Add Article or Script = John's Instructions for His Pebblings

RSVP and Website

• Publish on Website = Yes
• Accept RSVPs = Yes

Status = Active

What a Pebbling in the chosen Pebbling Group would see regarding this Action

Only a Pebbling in the Pebbling Group “Phone Bankers” would see this and the only place they would see it is on their “My Actions” screen as John chose not to Publish and not to accept RSVPs. On their My Action screen they would see the details (date, time, and location) for the Action. They would also see links to the Script, Talking Points, and Instructions.

What an unregistered user or Pebbling not assigned this Action sees regarding this Action

This Action would not be visible to anyone other than the Pebbling Group “Phone Bankers.”

Example Action: Pebbling Created Action

To be created upon completion of software.