Trevor Lyman
Encyclopedia
Trevor Morris Lyman is an American musician and internet music entrepreneur. Lyman popularized such political campaign concepts as moneybomb
s and dedicated political blimp advertising. He helped organize grassroots fundraising
for 2008 United States
Republican
presidential candidate Ron Paul
, Congressman
from Texas
by offering to create a hub website after supporters of the candidate decided a "money bomb" would be an effective way to bring in campaign donations.
labels, and internet marketing such as blogs, directories, and podcasts. Lyman moved from Merrimack, New Hampshire
, to South Florida
in 2006.
-majority Congress in 2006 when it did not end the war in Iraq. He became a supporter of U.S. Congressman Ron Paul
when Paul was exploring a presidential run in early 2007. Lyman was impressed by Paul's opposition to the war from its inception and his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq, and noted that hundreds of Myspace
users were converting their personal profiles into Paul profiles. He described himself as "mostly apathetic" about politics, but later quoted a grassroots slogan: "Dr. Paul cured my apathy."
Lyman is not affiliated with Paul's official campaign
and had never met Paul. Paul's campaign admits not knowing much about Lyman beyond his grassroots organization efforts, although Paul and Lyman have spoken by phone and, according to the NH Insider blog, met briefly on December 1, 2007.
videos, Lyman discovered a video from James Sugra of California, who advocated a massive one-day fundraiser from Paul's supporters on November 5, 2007.
Lyman commented, "There's no officialness about it in any sense. It’s just a website that said, 'Hey, let's all donate money on this day' .... Once the banners were in place and people could start spreading links, it just propagated virally."
With the assistance of former Federal Elections Commission chair Brad Smith (now a campaign finance lawyer), Lyman and other supporters established a for-profit company to collect donations for a blimp to advertise Paul's message. The innovative funding structure was created to permit donors to escape federal limits of $2,300 per person on the amounts donated. Instead of being directed to a candidate's primary campaign committee, donations pay for advertising for the candidate as determined by the for-profit corporation, Liberty Political Advertising, L.L.C. The FEC has not commented on the validity of such a finance structure.
With a stated cost of $400,000 per month, supporters raised enough money to keep the blimp afloat for about six weeks. Piloted by Dick Schwenker, it flew over Walt Disney World for several days, as well as the January 10 presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
. In 2007-08, the blimp has been sighted flying over:
, in mid-November 2007 in connection with the Free State Project
and efforts to campaign for Paul in the early-primary state. However, Lyman had also stated his move was "not to work on the campaign [but] just because he went to college there and said it would be a better place than Miami to raise a family." Until the January 8 primary, he roomed with several other Paul supporters in a self-described "frat house" with seven bedrooms; also living there was Vijay Boyapati, an Australian native and former Google employee. Boyapati had organized a plan to rent houses throughout New Hampshire to shelter hundreds of Paul volunteer canvassers like Lyman.
Lyman became the 500th "liberty-loving" participant to move to New Hampshire on behalf of the Free State Project; its members move to the state to work locally to reduce the size and scope of government. One of Lyman's first tasks was to field constant media queries from such sources as XM Satellite Radio
, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune
, and CNN
.
. Lyman's new website issued a Section 254
initial solicitation of interest for an initial public offering
of stock. Basic Media reached an agreement for its planned cable channel, "Break the Matrix TV", to be carried by Bay Country Communications, an SCTE
cable provider which serves Cambridge, Maryland
, and Dorchester County
.
, nevertheless named Lyman its Man of the Year for 2007.
The "incredibly successful" November 5 moneybomb was awarded a Golden Dot as "Technology Impact Moment of the Year" at the 2008 Politics Online Conference.
, where he was also a member of The Demand. He did not complete college.
Moneybomb
Moneybomb is a neologism coined in 2007 to describe a grassroots fundraising effort over a brief fixed time period, usually to support a candidate for election by dramatically increasing, concentrating, and publicizing fundraising activity during a specific hour or day...
s and dedicated political blimp advertising. He helped organize grassroots fundraising
Grassroots fundraising
Grassroots fundraising is a method of fundraising used by or for political candidates, which has grown in popularity with the emergence of the Internet and its use by US presidential candidates like Howard Dean and Ron Paul...
for 2008 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential candidate Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
, Congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by offering to create a hub website after supporters of the candidate decided a "money bomb" would be an effective way to bring in campaign donations.
Music career
In 1989, Lyman was a member of the band The Demand with Dave Jamrog, Dave Newton, and Dan O'Neil, and produced and recorded a first album, according to Jamrog. Lyman later began the Music Submit promotion company, which for four years has enabled artists to bypass major record labels and to market their songs directly via the internet; he created and operates its website. The organization, currently co-owned by Lyman, promotes musicians via radio, music magazines, indieIndependent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
labels, and internet marketing such as blogs, directories, and podcasts. Lyman moved from Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
, to South Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 2006.
Political activism
Lyman had never voted or contributed to any political candidate before or worked on any campaign, but he felt betrayed by the new DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-majority Congress in 2006 when it did not end the war in Iraq. He became a supporter of U.S. Congressman Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
when Paul was exploring a presidential run in early 2007. Lyman was impressed by Paul's opposition to the war from its inception and his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq, and noted that hundreds of Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
users were converting their personal profiles into Paul profiles. He described himself as "mostly apathetic" about politics, but later quoted a grassroots slogan: "Dr. Paul cured my apathy."
Lyman is not affiliated with Paul's official campaign
Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008
Ron Paul was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election.Initial opinion polls during the first three quarters of 2007 showed Ron Paul consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled...
and had never met Paul. Paul's campaign admits not knowing much about Lyman beyond his grassroots organization efforts, although Paul and Lyman have spoken by phone and, according to the NH Insider blog, met briefly on December 1, 2007.
Video website
Lyman organized a website for posting videos of and for Paul's meetup groups in July 2007. The website's tagline is "Televising the Revolution".Moneybombs
In October 2007, while monitoring Paul's appearances in YoutubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos, Lyman discovered a video from James Sugra of California, who advocated a massive one-day fundraiser from Paul's supporters on November 5, 2007.
Lyman commented, "There's no officialness about it in any sense. It’s just a website that said, 'Hey, let's all donate money on this day' .... Once the banners were in place and people could start spreading links, it just propagated virally."
Ron Paul blimp
With a stated cost of $400,000 per month, supporters raised enough money to keep the blimp afloat for about six weeks. Piloted by Dick Schwenker, it flew over Walt Disney World for several days, as well as the January 10 presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
. In 2007-08, the blimp has been sighted flying over:
- Elizabeth City, NC, December 14
- Baltimore, MD, December 20
- Jacksonville, FL, December 28
- Orlando, FL, January 1–3
- Gainesville, FL, January 6–7
- Myrtle Beach, SC, January 10–11
- Sumter, SC, January 18
- New Smyrna Beach, FL, January 25–26
New Hampshire move
Lyman moved to Manchester, New HampshireManchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, in mid-November 2007 in connection with the Free State Project
Free State Project
The Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....
and efforts to campaign for Paul in the early-primary state. However, Lyman had also stated his move was "not to work on the campaign [but] just because he went to college there and said it would be a better place than Miami to raise a family." Until the January 8 primary, he roomed with several other Paul supporters in a self-described "frat house" with seven bedrooms; also living there was Vijay Boyapati, an Australian native and former Google employee. Boyapati had organized a plan to rent houses throughout New Hampshire to shelter hundreds of Paul volunteer canvassers like Lyman.
Lyman became the 500th "liberty-loving" participant to move to New Hampshire on behalf of the Free State Project; its members move to the state to work locally to reduce the size and scope of government. One of Lyman's first tasks was to field constant media queries from such sources as XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
Basic Media
In February 2008 Lyman announced the formation of Basic Media, a media company intended to advance liberty principles independent of any campaign, by developing high-quality radio and TV internet broadcasting and marketing it to the mainstream American audience. Lyman partnered with Rick Williams, a practicing lawyer and 1973 graduate of UCLA School of LawUCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...
. Lyman's new website issued a Section 254
Securities Act of 1933
Congress enacted the Securities Act of 1933 , in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929 and during the ensuing Great Depression...
initial solicitation of interest for an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
of stock. Basic Media reached an agreement for its planned cable channel, "Break the Matrix TV", to be carried by Bay Country Communications, an SCTE
SCTE
The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers or SCTE is a non-profit professional association for the advancement of technology related to cable telecommunications engineering. Founded in 1969, SCTE has a current membership of over 12,000 individuals.- Publications :SCTE offers several...
cable provider which serves Cambridge, Maryland
Cambridge, Maryland
Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 12,326 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dorchester County and the county's largest municipality...
, and Dorchester County
Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...
.
Awards and recognition
Renew America, though it is a grassroots organization chaired by Paul's competitor Alan KeyesAlan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
, nevertheless named Lyman its Man of the Year for 2007.
The "incredibly successful" November 5 moneybomb was awarded a Golden Dot as "Technology Impact Moment of the Year" at the 2008 Politics Online Conference.
Personal details
Lyman was born in 1970 and attended high school in Merrimack, New HampshireMerrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
, where he was also a member of The Demand. He did not complete college.