An online face to merger foes

We're seeing some online signs of life now from the advocates pushing for a repeal of Maine's school district consolidation mandate, or a yes vote on question 3 of Maine's November ballot.

The opposing side -- those vying to keep the consolidation law on the books through a no vote on question 3 -- launched a Web site late last week.

Sunday morning, the Yes on 3 contingent appeared on Twitter. Later in the day, the campaign launched a Ning page, where consolidation foes are posting arguments in favor of overturning consolidation and refuting opposing arguments. Lynne Williams, a Green Independent candidate for governor, is among the members of the Yes on 3 Ning network.

It's widely known that the people pushing a repeal of the consolidation mandate aren't awash in cash. When it comes to online strategy then, the advocates are taking advantage of a social networking approach that costs nothing. With Twitter inter-activity, perhaps we'll see some vibrant back-and-forth on consolidation in 140-character tweets.