
How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks’ Power - nickb
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10carr.html?_r=1&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss&oref=slogin
======
mathoda
I was interviewed (and quoted) by the NY Times reporter who wrote this
article. He had read my earlier essay on the topic, The Coming Digital
Presidency: <http://mathoda.com/archives/189>

------
justindz
I remember my wife describing the morning of the 4th when she brought up
Facebook and her feed was this giant mass of get-out-the-vote status updates
from people who donated their status to Obama. I also remember getting far
more tweets from Obama than McCain, and the follower counts were very
lopsided. Clearly, the campaigns had different approaches in the wired and I
think it at least helped enthusiasm amongst my generation.

~~~
josefresco
It's not the approach that mattered, it's the money. Obama didn't have any
hidden advantage or strategy that allowed him to out maneuver McCain, he just
had a lot more money to throw at small niche strategies (and staffers) like
Twitter and larger ones like TV ads.

There are smart-young people on 'both' sides, one side just had waaay more
money to spend.

I also think it's cute how people think Obama himself was actually Tweeting
them

~~~
arockwell
I think the approach does matter, and is one of the reasons there is such a
big difference in fund raising in the first place.

~~~
anamax
> one of the reasons there is such a big difference in fund raising in the
> first place.

There wasn't "a difference in fund-raising". McCain, as promised, went with
public financing. Obama broke his promise to do likewise and went private.

------
mnemonik
>"It’s clear there has been a dramatic shift," said Andrew Rasiej, the founder
of the Personal Democracy Forum, an annual conference about the intersection
of politics and technology. "Any politician who fails to recognize that we are
in a post-party era with a new political ecology in which connecting like
minds and forming a movement is so much easier will not be around long."

Somehow I doubt any third party candidate will make a realistic bid for a long
time.

