The Unofficial Ballot

Silence used to be the safe choice. It is not any more — an organization that says nothing is now read as having said something. The Unofficial Ballot is a working method for deciding, in advance and on the record, which issues you will speak to and which you will not.

About the book

For most of the internet era, an organization that said nothing about a contested issue was assumed to have no position. That assumption no longer holds. Customers, employees, reporters, and search engines now read silence as a statement in its own right — and they read it without asking what was intended by it.

The Unofficial Ballot is a non-partisan working method for that problem. It does not tell a reader which side to take. It sets out how to decide, in advance and on the record, which issues an organization or an individual will speak to, which it will not, and what happens either way — so that the decision is made deliberately rather than in the twelve hours after something goes wrong.

Who it is for

• Executives and communications teams who need a defensible process before the next issue lands, not a statement template after it.
• Small business owners whose reputation is local, personal, and permanently searchable.
• Creators and public professionals whose audience and livelihood are the same asset.
• Anyone with a public account who has watched a post age badly and wondered where the line is.

What is inside

Six parts and twenty-three chapters, built around a decision framework and supported throughout by cases that actually happened. The book includes worksheets, statement structures, and separate playbooks for corporations, small businesses, creators, and individual social media users.

About the author

Bill Hartzer has spent more than 25 years working at the intersection of search engines, domain names, digital advertising, internet infrastructure, and online reputation. He advises organizations from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and serves as an expert witness in matters involving search, digital marketing, and domain names.

The book’s own site

Chapter detail, endorsements, speaking and media information, and retail links live at theunofficialballot.com. Hartzer Press is the publisher of record.

Questions