Somehow I missed this, but the LA Times’ Mark Z. Barabak did a piece a few days ago on the rise of the Internet in politics. The article starts out with Donnie Fowler, a veteran Democratic strategist who has started a new company, Cherry Tree Mobile Media, to promote mobile communications in political campaigns.
To Fowler, a veteran Democratic strategist, the next big thing is the small screen on the cellphone in your purse or pocket. In just a few years, he said, the tiny device will allow you to access the Internet in all its vastness, as though you were seated in front of a computer.
Although the piece is ostensibly about the rise of podcasting in politics, it really focuses on the wide array of Internet-related tools that candidates use.
In the latest creative wrinkle, politicians are podcasting — White House hopefuls Gen. Wesley K. Clark, John Edwards and Sen. Bill Frist are among those regularly offering their downloadable ruminations — and turning up on Flickr, MySpace, YouTube and other photo- and video-sharing Internet sites.
It’s still early days when it comes to web-based politicking and as much as the 2004 presidential election was affected by bloggers and the Internet, the 2008 race could take campaigning to a whole new level.
Come 2008, who knows? Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona wowed political savants in 2000 by raising $7.5 million on the Internet for his White House bid. Four years later, Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts raised $82 million online for his presidential run. “We’re still only at 10 o’clock in the morning on the first day of the revolution,” said Phil Noble, one of cyberspace’s political pioneers. “Pay real close attention, because tomorrow it’s all going to change again.”
(Hat tip to the463 blog.)
Cynthia Brumfield at 1:38 PM|Comments(1)
It will be fascinating to watch how the candidates will use technology in campaigns, particularly the 2008 Presidential race. It has been interesting to see how the internet and blogs have been active already with respects to the 2008 campaign.
Posted by: Charlie at July 23, 2006 11:25 PM
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