Campaigns Online

Campaigns Utilizes Internet Tools and Strategies to Win in 2006

Blogging, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Online Donations, and Online Organizing and Communications are Key Aspect of Political Campaigns

In this year's mid-term election, the Internet has proven to be the necessary tool for campaigning on all levels. Campaigns have developed sophisticated Internet tools to enhance their campaigns, targeting young and web-savvy voters.

Americans have embraced the Internet to connect to the political process. Online campaigning has revolutionized political communication, grassroots activism, supporter outreach, and fundraising.

"With so many close elections this year, the Internet has played a pivotal role in fundraising, organizing, and get out the vote efforts," said Alexis Rice, Project Director of CampaignsOnline.org and Fellow at the Center for the Study of American Government at Johns Hopkins University. "Campaigns have embraced Internet strategies to stay competitive."

Blogging has become an essential part of political campaigns, with campaigns, special interest groups, and national political parities not only creating blogs, but hiring paid bloggers to write on their behalf on "independent" blogs.

Campaigns utilized their own blogs to present their unfiltered message and brought supporters together to form a new online community. Campaigns have also reached out to bloggers in a similar way they have always reached out to the mainstream press, sometimes even giving bloggers more access to their campaigns than mainstream press.

Campaigns continue to depend on online donations and are utilizing e-mail and blogs to rally and communicate with their supporters and solicit donations.

This year the use of social networking tools, like Facebook.com and Myspace.com, has emerged as a new way to connect and get involve young voters in campaigns. Additionally, the video site, YouTube.com has become a clearinghouse of campaign ads and video highlighting campaign activities.

"In the 2006 election, the Internet has again proved its power; showing it is a place to organize, inform, and raise funds easily," said Rice.

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CampaignsOnline.org, a website and blog project, is a nonpartisan research and educational project of the Center for the Study of American Government at Johns Hopkins University. CampaignsOnline.org has been profiling trends in online campaigning since 2003 and released the first academic research on political blogging in 2003.

The mission of CampaignsOnline.org is to promote improvements and understanding in the usage of the Internet and emerging technologies in political campaigns.

Contact: Campaigns Online
202-487-7017
arice@campaignsonline.org

When Blogs Attack

In Connecticut's Second Congressional District, Democratic challenger Joseph Courtney's campaign has charged that a former campaign worker for Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT) is responsible for an Internet blog with "offensive" images that attacks on Courtney.

According to the Norwich Bulletin the blog includes, "a video with images of dead bodies which appear to be related to the Holocaust, criticizing Courtney's health-care program and other images calling the Democratic candidate a communist."

Invading Cyberspace

There is an article in the  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today on how political campaigns have "invaded cyberspace" and discover video blogs, MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook.

The article notes:

This year's Internet-based campaign focus is unprecedented. And it's mostly aimed at younger voters who are more apt to watch streaming video on a computer instead of the evening news.

Democrats Forget About their Blog in Spanish

In January 2006, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) started a Spanish language blog, Blog /Foro Latino, on their website. It seemed like a great idea to reach out to Spanish speakers by using a blog, except they forgot to post to it. Since the launch of the blog in January 2006 there has only been eight posting, with the last posting in July.

It's Been A While...

It been a while, but we are back to writing!!! Already campaigns in 2006 are starting up there websites ( and lets not forget their are elections in 2005 to look at).

And then there are political bloggers... they seem to be EVERYWHERE! mainstream media still feels like they are missing out and incorporating blogs everywhere they can.

What Happened to Bush and Kerry's Campaign Blogs

Now that the election is history it seems that Bush's Blog is gone, but links you to Ed Gillespie Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Blog located on gop.com. Kerry's blog is still there as an archive, with the last post being his concession speech.

Online Fundraising Big in the 2004 Election

In 2003, Democratic Presidential hopeful Howard Dean raised more than $20 million online and showed the fundraising power of the Internet and reinvented campaign fundraising, shifting it from a few big donors to countless small donors. These new and important Internet strategies were then adopted in the John Kerry and George W. Bush’s campaigns, along with the political parities, and candidates on the state and local level. 

Seeing the success of Dean in online fundraising, the Kerry campaign used similar fundraising strategies and raked in nearly $82 million in online contributions. The Bush campaign mainly used their website organize and communicate with supporters and collected around $14 million online.  With the success of Kerry’s online fundraising efforts, Kerry was able to compete with Bush financially and level the playing field in terms of donations.  While the Bush campaign raised a record-breaking $260 million, the Kerry campaign was not so far behind with $248 million thanks to all of the Internet donations.

The Death of Kerry's Blog

If you go to Kerry's blog you get a blank page and the last posting on the site (the concession speech) does not allow users to add comments.

Internet Impact- Major Player in 2004 Campaign

Alexis Rice was quoted in Sunday's Baltimore Sun article on "Internet Finds its Niche in Politics" the article notes: <ul>

Every few decades, a new medium finds its niche in American politics.

In the 1920s and 1930s, it was radio that gave candidates a way to talk directly to large audiences. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was television, which created sound bites and showed that a candidate's physical image matters. The 1980s and early 1990s were about cable TV and targeting audiences such as the MTV generation.

This year, the Internet came into its own as a political tool.

"In 2004, it was a driving force in the campaign," said Alexis Rice, a fellow at the Johns Hopkins University and director of a project there that analyzes the Internet's influence on politics. </ul>

The Election is Over- But What was the Impact of the Internet?

Election 2004 was the first national elections where the Internet was an integrated part of the election and used in every facet of this campaign.
The Palm Beach Post had a great editorial today "Now running: The Web" where the paper notes:

One of the starring roles in the 2004 campaign goes not to a candidate but to the Internet. A physician from a tiny state could stun the political Establishment and contend for a major-party presidential nomination because technology enabled him to go around the Establishment. He made online house calls, seeking money and support, from the wired world. Dr. Dean's issue was opposition to the war in Iraq, and he tapped into strong emotions. His audience may not have reflected the nation as a whole, since the wired world tends to be younger and single, but the Establishment got the idea. In particular, John Kerry and the Democrats raised lots of money in $50 online increments.