Internet Powerhouse

With Joe Trippi on the way to class Wednesday, I thought I would take a moment to comment on his book, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.  

For starters, I love the Dean Scream on the front cover.  In addition to that, I like how Trippi takes you back in time and you almost feel as if you are part of the campaign, shadowing him as he campaigns for Dean across Iowa.

Trippi also points out the power of the internet in campaigning.  Dean’s was particularly good at utilizing the internet at that time in campaigns simply because it had not been done before.  Trippi organized fundraising tools using the internet and along with programmers like Michael Silberman, people became the campaign through the internet.

Now, in this day and age, relatively unknown candidates are utilizing the internet to not only get their name out there, but to rally their supporters under one hub and allow them to help the campaign from a central starting point.

The question was posted by Garrett asking if a frontrunner candidate could effectively utilize the internet, or is it a tool to be used by underdog candidates?

I’ll make the argument that not only could a frontrunner candidate utilize the internet, but frontrunner candidates in the future will have better internet organization than underdog candidates.

The internet as a campaign tool is like a slot receiver in football.  Its typically the third or fourth option (in campaign speak- behind phones, television and print mail ads) and isn’t really heard of until you realize halfway during the game that the guy is wide open.  So you start throwing him the ball and the next thing you know, its the end of the season and he is your leading receiver because teams never dropped a cornerback to cover him and let him run around the linebackers all season.

Internet campaigning is a revered slot receiver.  Campaigns want to rely on phone banking and donations from individuals with big wallets.  That leaves the internet to secure small donations and to rally more supporters.  Barack Obama effectively utilized that and come 2012, I think its going to be much harder for the GOP.  Obama was the first candidate to win the presidency while effectively using the internet as a campaign tool, which is pretty unprecedented.  Would he decide to drop his online network now that he has the White House?  I’d think the opposite.  He’ll want to bring in more people into government and that will bode well in 2012, because all his supporters will need to do is go to a similar web address and organize yet again like they did in 2008, but this time with better technology and larger numbers.

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