Partia e Fortë
22 posts on Partia e Fortë.
Between 2012 and 2014 I helped run a satirical political party in Pristina that promised everything and meant none of it. I built and led its digital team, which meant volunteers instead of a budget, a campaign anthem about becoming a millionaire, a poster campaign that put my own face on a billboard, a 454-person Facebook survey before the election, and standing for parliament myself as candidate number ten, finishing with 71 votes. Here are the articles about that experience, including why a joke party was serious civic work.
- What a Satirical Party's Ending Taught Me May 20, 2019
Partia e Fortë dissolved in 2019. On why a joke that worked so well eventually stopped, and why that ending may be its most honest part.
- What Partia e Fortë Taught Me About Social Media Strategy June 16, 2014
No one handed us a manual. In the middle of this strange experiment, here is what I think I am learning about how attention actually works.
- 71 Votes: What Running as a Satirical Candidate Taught Me June 11, 2014
When the June 2014 results came in, my name had 71 votes next to it. A small number with a lot to say about audience versus electorate.
- Sometimes You Have to Step In Front of the Camera June 2, 2014
Years of running a party's social media from behind the feed, and then a live national TV debate. What changes when the person making it happen has to be the person on screen.
- My 454-Person Facebook Survey Before the 2014 Election June 2, 2014
Before Kosovo's June 2014 vote I surveyed my own network on where the parties stood. What it found, and what it honestly could not tell us.
- Manual për Burra: When the Satire Had a Sharp Point May 25, 2014
Not all of Partia e Fortë's work was light. How 'Manual për Burra' used an absurdist voice to poke hard at gender roles in Kosovo.
- The Poster Campaign: My Own Face on the Billboard May 20, 2014
For 2014, Partia e Fortë turned its candidates into the ad. I was number 28, and my poster made a joke at my own expense.
- Candidate Number 10: Standing for Partia e Fortë in 2014 May 16, 2014
In May 2014 Partia e Fortë registered 64 candidates for parliament and I was number ten. On putting your real name behind the joke.
- When the World Noticed Partia e Fortë January 22, 2014
A satirical party from a small Balkan country ended up in the international press. On watching a local joke become a story told abroad.
- Why a Joke Party Was Serious Civic Work December 10, 2013
Partia e Fortë was funny on purpose but never only a joke. On what it meant that young Kosovars found their political voice through satire.
- From Likes to Votes: The 2013 Local Elections November 5, 2013
An online following is not the same as a result. How Partia e Fortë turned an internet audience into an actual seat in the Pristina municipal assembly.
- Baklava, Millionaires, and the Art of the Satirical Spot October 30, 2013
Partia e Fortë did not just post, it produced: campaign songs, absurd video spots, a plate of baklava as a political broadcast.
- 'Do të bëhem milioner': The Song That Became Our Anthem October 28, 2013
In October 2013 Partia e Fortë launched a campaign song, 'I Will Become a Millionaire.' I helped present it, and it still holds up.
- Measuring What Mattered on Partia e Fortë's Channels October 15, 2013
Vanity metrics are a trap, and a satirical party is easy to fool with them. How I decided what was worth measuring when the goal was impact.
- Building the Digital Team Behind Partia e Fortë September 24, 2013
A satirical party with no budget cannot buy reach. It has to be built by volunteers who find the work fun. On organizing the people who made the campaign run.
- The Youngest List in Prishtina Was the Argument September 4, 2013
For the 2013 Pristina assembly election, Partia e Fortë fielded the city's youngest candidate list, average age 25.9. That was the point.
- Design as a Weapon: The Look of Partia e Fortë August 13, 2013
The satire lived in the writing but traveled on the design. On Trembelat's identity and why a joke party had to look more serious than real ones.
- Timing the Jokes: Reacting to Kosovo's Politics in Real Time July 2, 2013
The difference between a satirical page that grows and one that dies is timing. How I ran Partia e Fortë's channels as a real-time operation.
- We Always Promise: Turning a Slogan Into a Movement May 7, 2013
Every campaign wants a slogan that sticks. Ours worked because it was also an accusation. A look at how 'We always promise' carried Partia e Fortë.
- The Voice: Writing Satire People Actually Shared March 19, 2013
The hardest part of running social for Partia e Fortë was keeping a voice so consistent people knew a line was ours before they saw the name.
- Why We Built Partia e Fortë on Facebook First February 11, 2013
Before we had an office, a recognizable logo, or a single vote, we had a Facebook page. Why the platform choice was the strategy.
- How We Started Partia e Fortë November 20, 2012
In November 2012 a group of us in Pristina started a party that promised everything and meant none of it. This is how it began.