Well, this may be surprising depending on whose reading this…but I think Obama’s greatest strength lies in his Internet marketing and branding. There is no doubt, that he “controls” the Internet…partly because the Internet is full of “young people (which are generically ‘liberal,’ take that however you like)” and because his campaign did such a great job recruiting talented web designers and developers to create a great looking and preforming website. I mean, this is one of the few times a splash page works…his newsletter sign-up as the splash page is pure genius. You only encourage more people to sign up this way, though it may be considered a cheap move as splash pages are looked down upon for a reason. But, with web organizations like moveon.org and a strong backing in general with most Internet users…there is no way for John McCain to really woo voters or even get financial donations.
The Internet is on Your Side Obama
You want to find that homemade Chinese desert recipe? Well, it’s only a Google’s search away
There is no doubt that the majority of Internet “users” will vote for Obama. Yes, your grandma may use the Internet…but I think that an overwhelming percentage of users in general of the web 1) associate with liberal, idealistic virtues, and 2) are democrats. I’m not going to argue whether their positions are even valid, and worth supporting…but no one can debate this fact! As I can attest to, the Internet isn’t the easiest tool to use to get information…it takes some web savvy to get anywhere. So obviously, most users are young (probably below 30ish), believe they’re more “exposed” to the world (in other words, worldly), and think whatever positions they support is right automatically. I mean, the Internet is a great way to get exposed to information from all around the world. You want to find that homemade Chinese desert recipe? Well, it’s only a Google’s search away. But, there’s its no substitute to truly understanding and exposing oneself to the real world. So, in my opinion there’s way too much ego-boosting and self-serving on the web…but I guess that’s guaranteed to occur wherever people can get away with being “anonymous.”
Why It Works
Anyway, most users are young and believe in a “better” world that generally leans towards the left political spectrum. After all, where else can someone get away with creating a company selling the “shit box?” So even if Obama didn’t realize the power of the Internet, he would have still garnered a lot of attention and positive press as any blog post carrying the mention of Obama would get that blog multitudes of comments, and traffic. It’s sorta like having the “ultimate first hand scoop” on some huge news story…
A complete self-serve “propaganda” machine if you well, after all the entire purpose of the site is to promote himself, and his philosophy of “changing” the status quo
But, Obama did realize the importance of having support of the Internet. That’s why he has such a large gathering online, donating some of the largest total sums of money to a campaign in history (though Ron Paul also did a good job as well…heh). I mean just look at Obama’s site. It’s clean and blue (okay, fine his party color is blue as well…but still the site has a nice tone to it), and most importantly draws users into his campaign right away engaging them with reminders to register to vote, to donate, and to get involved with the whole voting process. It’s pure genius! A complete self-serve “propaganda” machine if you well, after all the entire purpose of the site is to promote himself, and his philosophy of “changing” the status quo. The site even has the ability for users to sign up for accounts on the site itself on the section called “MyBO” (guess what that stands for). And, the other day I was trying to find more information on how to sign up for registering to vote (which I did today btw), and guess what…the site that gave me such “helpful” information also tried to sign me up for the Obama campaign. Talk about slick (and a little shady…though that’s the Internet for you) marketing. Heh, you can even notice the Hillary Clinton mention towards the bottom of the page… Also, not to nit-pick his site…but if you were to look at his stance on issues, “women” are on the bottom while “civil rights” and “defense” are at the top?
Now, if only I could emulate his success with my own web ventures? Maybe…?
Eric Huang