Obama Utilizes Internet for Success
Chari Staples
3/27/08
Biz & Tech
Biz & Tech
Presidential candidate Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) success comes with his established assertion, "Yes we can." Perhaps it should be "Yes we click," as his campaign for presidency takes online politics to new heights.
His campaign's use of technology has attracted new supporters through record-breaking fundraising, mass texting to keep his supporters connected and networking in Facebook groups. Obama's impact has been attributed to his effective campaign organization and moving appeal.
Andrew Ross, an analyst of online politics, said the Obama campaign "has come close to achieving the highest ground of politics on the Internet, translating online enthusiasm to offline action."
Although every candidate in this year's presidential battle has used the Web far more efficiently than anyone who ran in 2004, Obama is ahead of other candidates in Internet traffic, videos generated by users and social networking.
Devin Canada, a junior political science major, who is a republican, feels that Obama has effectively utilized the Internet in order to reach as many voters possible.
"Obama is successful because his message is dead-on with democrats," Canada said. "Along with that, he is promoting his message with the most widespread and effective online strategy of any campaign. He is using the tools that help to find and mobilize new voters."
Other presidential candidates have also struck gold on the Web this election cycle. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has mustered an army of social-networking contacts in an outreach campaign consisting of cell phone callers.
John McCain (R-Ariz.), who showed how fundraising online could rouse a campaign in 2000, has been a leader in search advertising. His campaign bought thousands of keywords on Yahoo! and Google portals intended to attract users to McCain's Web site. According to an estimation from Business Weekly, McCain brought in $3 to $4 for every $1 spent on search ads.
But the level of Obama's fundraising, $55 million in February, has outshined all competitors and has stunned many political analysts. Donations of $100 or less make up about 90 percent of that money, according to David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager.
His campaign's use of technology has attracted new supporters through record-breaking fundraising, mass texting to keep his supporters connected and networking in Facebook groups. Obama's impact has been attributed to his effective campaign organization and moving appeal.
Andrew Ross, an analyst of online politics, said the Obama campaign "has come close to achieving the highest ground of politics on the Internet, translating online enthusiasm to offline action."
Although every candidate in this year's presidential battle has used the Web far more efficiently than anyone who ran in 2004, Obama is ahead of other candidates in Internet traffic, videos generated by users and social networking.
Devin Canada, a junior political science major, who is a republican, feels that Obama has effectively utilized the Internet in order to reach as many voters possible.
"Obama is successful because his message is dead-on with democrats," Canada said. "Along with that, he is promoting his message with the most widespread and effective online strategy of any campaign. He is using the tools that help to find and mobilize new voters."
Other presidential candidates have also struck gold on the Web this election cycle. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has mustered an army of social-networking contacts in an outreach campaign consisting of cell phone callers.
John McCain (R-Ariz.), who showed how fundraising online could rouse a campaign in 2000, has been a leader in search advertising. His campaign bought thousands of keywords on Yahoo! and Google portals intended to attract users to McCain's Web site. According to an estimation from Business Weekly, McCain brought in $3 to $4 for every $1 spent on search ads.
But the level of Obama's fundraising, $55 million in February, has outshined all competitors and has stunned many political analysts. Donations of $100 or less make up about 90 percent of that money, according to David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Robert
posted 3/28/08 @ 2:49 PM EST
This is article is very well-written!
Chari Staples
posted 3/28/08 @ 2:50 PM EST
Thanks for the positive feedback!
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