Chatting about the Internet and the 2008 Elections November 14, 2008
Guardian Blogs Editor Kevin Anderson dropped by our office a few weeks before the election to interview me about the role played by the Internet in the 2008 Presidential campaign for the Guardian’s Tech Weekly podcast . You can listen to the podcast here. Andy Carvin from NPR and Garrett Graff from Washingtonian Magazine also share their thoughts.
During my bit I compared the social networking strategies of the Obama and McCain campaigns, with a focus on the internal social networks both sides built (My.BarackObama.com and McCainSpace). My basic point is one I’ve made before on this blog:
The secret of the success of Barack Obama’s social network is that at its heart it is really a social action center. When you login to My.BarackObama, you are pushed to make phone calls to undecided voters, knock on doors and raise money for the campaign, not to produce content. Sure, that functionality exists on the Barack Obama website but it isn’t the main point. The main point of My.BarackObama is to help Obama get elected. The same cannot be said for the much more nebulous McCainSpace.
It was great talking to Kevin and I’d encourage you to give the podcast a listen.
