Results

This has been an historic election year in the United States (and not just in regards to the Democratic nominee). With the introduction of Web 2.0 strategy to political campaigns, the candidates have reached voters from previously apathetic or uninformed groups. Campaigns have hired CIOs, launched creative websites, and set up donation systems and volunteer opportunities online. We’ll explore the Web 2.0 efforts, both fun and informative, of each of the remaining candidates in the race for the 2008 presidency.

Barack Obama’s website also allows voters to learn about the candidate issue by issue; visitors to his website can find his views on health care, education, the environment, immigration, Iraq, homeland security, etc. In addition to sharing their candidate’s plans and views, Obama’s website invites visitors to sound off on the issues of the day with a “MyPolicy” function on each issue page. This appeals directly to the increasing atmosphere of participation on the web. People want to influence content and have their voices heard. It’s a subtle way for the Obama campaign to say to voters, “We listen to you.”

In addition to his main website, Obama’s campaign has created a my.barackobama.com portal which allows strong supporters to create their own profiles, organize events, meet like-minded voters, blog about their activities, and help with fund raising efforts. This social networking approach to gathering support has increased Obama’s presence among young voters.

In another attempt to reach grassroots voters, Obama’s website also hosts downloads of widgets (like news feeds for Google Gadgets and a video widget for MySpace). Another great feature was created by Substance, Inc. as a social experiment, and is not officially connected with Obama’s campaign. Their website, Logobama, lets supporters create customized images using the candidate’s logo. The site allows you to upload a photo, position it in the logo, and customize the color scheme. You can then save it in a number of sizes and send it to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, MySpace, LinkedIn, and a number of other Web 2.0 sites. I used a photo from Obama’s Flickr page to create this image.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has also been successful in reaching out to voters online. Her website, which is available in Spanish and English, features many of the same Web 2.0 tools as Obama’s, including an Issues section where voters can share their thoughts with the candidate. Clinton’s main site links to a news feed site called HillaryHub, which pulls the latest stories about her campaign from sources across the web.

Another way in which Clinton’s campaign reached out to wired voters is through the Hillary TV section of her website. It features videos from campaign rallies, speeches, and media appearances. This not only makes the best use of TV advertising dollars, but it also reaches out to the YouTube generation, who tend to get their news and entertainment online. The site is home to the now famous (or infamous, depending on your politics) 3 a.m. advertisement.

Last but not least, Republican nominee-to-be John McCain has maximized his reach on the internet through high-quality videos featuring historical footage. This spot, called Man in the Arena, uses speeches, news footage, and photos from Winston Churchill interspersed with McCain’s own experience as a prisoner of war during Vietnam. One particularly poignant moment shows McCain being released from prison while his voice over declares, “I owe America more than she has ever owed me.” The message is crafted less to the YouTube generation and more to the “Greatest generation”, which is likely to make up McCain’s patriotic support base.

McCain’s website does not feature widgets or logo customization tools like Obama’s. It’s clearly geared at an audience who seeks information, not entertainment, on the internet. However, his blog has won acclaim from the political technology watchdogs at techPresident, a forum which examines the role of technology in campaigns. In this article, techPresident explains how they posted numerous comments on blogs, YouTube accounts, and candidate websites to see if negative commentary would be filtered out. McCain’s blog allowed every comment, positive and negative, to be posted on the site.

While all the candidates have had success reaching voters online, it’s clear which campaigns are trying to attract which demographic of voters. If politics keeps you entertained, the candidates have obliged with all the widgets, videos, photos, and customization tools that Web 2.0 voters want. If you follow politics online to educate yourself about the issues of the day, you’re also in luck. Through blogs, informative websites, and user comments/forums, this year’s candidates invite you not only to explore their plans but also to add your own two cents to the debate.

Thursday, March 13th, 2008 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Haley January Eckels