Candidates' blogs reach out to voters for 2008 election
Colleen Huysman
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: News
As candidates in the 2008 presidential race have announced their official nominations earlier than any other campaign cycle in history, they are capitalizing on the success of Internet politicking as more Oval Office hopefuls turn to the web to reach voters.
"Technology may be the pivotal point [in the 2008 election]," said Tom Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media, an online software company that often advises prominent political candidates. "It provides a backdoor channel to an audience that may be difficult to reach."
Candidates can best reach out to the generation of college students through online campaigning because students are often too busy to consume traditional media, such as print newspapers and television, Harpointner said.
The campaigns with the best tech-savvy managers will be most effective, he added. Because each email sent by campaigns is free, Harpointner said candidates cannot afford to not use the Internet.
"[There is] no excuse not to be using [email] because budget is too tight," he said.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick has used the Internet to his benefit, maintaining a weekly blog on the Mass.gov website. Patrick uses his blog and podcasts to update residents on issues, such as making cabinet selections, restructuring government agencies and prioritizing energy policy.
"[Technology] really allows campaigns to connect," said Liz Morningstar, executive director of Patrick's campaign committee.
Some politicians are organizing their websites to appeal to younger audiences, using email newsletters, blogs, YouTube.com videos, Facebook.com profiles and Really Simple Syndication feeds to reach voters. Primarily used by news media, RSS feeds allow users to access frequently updated digital content.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is widely credited with proving the effectiveness of grassroots online marketing during the 2004 election. At the beginning of his campaign, Dean had approximately 550 supporters on his website, and six months later, he had half a million.
"Technology may be the pivotal point [in the 2008 election]," said Tom Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media, an online software company that often advises prominent political candidates. "It provides a backdoor channel to an audience that may be difficult to reach."
Candidates can best reach out to the generation of college students through online campaigning because students are often too busy to consume traditional media, such as print newspapers and television, Harpointner said.
The campaigns with the best tech-savvy managers will be most effective, he added. Because each email sent by campaigns is free, Harpointner said candidates cannot afford to not use the Internet.
"[There is] no excuse not to be using [email] because budget is too tight," he said.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick has used the Internet to his benefit, maintaining a weekly blog on the Mass.gov website. Patrick uses his blog and podcasts to update residents on issues, such as making cabinet selections, restructuring government agencies and prioritizing energy policy.
"[Technology] really allows campaigns to connect," said Liz Morningstar, executive director of Patrick's campaign committee.
Some politicians are organizing their websites to appeal to younger audiences, using email newsletters, blogs, YouTube.com videos, Facebook.com profiles and Really Simple Syndication feeds to reach voters. Primarily used by news media, RSS feeds allow users to access frequently updated digital content.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is widely credited with proving the effectiveness of grassroots online marketing during the 2004 election. At the beginning of his campaign, Dean had approximately 550 supporters on his website, and six months later, he had half a million.