Society | DOI: 10.1145/1461928.1461935
the first Internet
Barak Obama’s presidential campaign utilized the Internet and
information technology unlike any previous political campaign.
How politicians and the public interact will never be the same.
When baRacK obaMa
stepped on stage in
Chicago’s Grant Park
to deliver his victory
speech last November
4, it represented a defining moment in
American history. Although the news
media and the public couldn’t help but
recognize the historic fact that Obama
had become the nation’s first black
president, it was no less significant that
the 47-year-old community activist and
politician had also become America’s
first Internet president.
Throughout a two-year campaign,
Obama’s political team—including
campaign manager David Plouffe and
senior adviser David Axelrod—tapped
into information technology to redefine
the election process and interact with
people in new and different ways. The
campaign team mined email addresses and used them to build a database
of more than 13 million people, they
turned to social networking sites such
as Facebook to amass followers and disperse information, and they posted videos on the campaign Web site Barack-
Obama.com as well as on You Tube.
It was a winning strategy. However,
the ripple effects are likely to extend far
beyond future elections and into the
White House and government itself.
Political observers say that politics has
reached a critical threshold and there’s
no turning back. “The ability to connect
via the Internet to groups, segments,
and individuals changes everything.
It flattens the process and creates a
bottom-up approach to participation,”
says Joe Trippi, who pioneered the use
of the Internet in Howard Dean’s 2004
presidential bid and has worked on the
presidential campaigns of Edward Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Gary Hart, Dick
Gephardt, and John Edwards.
“This was a watershed election,” adds
Barak obama’s Web site enabled his presidential campaign to communicate directly with
supporters, launch canvassing and get-out-the-vote campaigns, and raise millions of dollars.
Mitch Kapor, co-founder of the Electron- has unmistakable limitations. It cannot
ic Frontier Foundation and now a prin- be targeted to specific segments and de-cipal at Kapor Enterprises. “It has set a mographic groups as it offers a one-size-tone for the country. There’s a growing fits-all message.
recognition that information technol- Of course, since the mid-1990s, can-ogy is here to stay. It has moved into the didates have constructed Web sites and
mainstreamof Americanpolitics.” used them to promote their agenda.
But in the Web 1.0 world, these sites
served as little more than e-brochures,
allowing candidates to post news, information, and positions on various
issues. They made it easier to disperse
information, but did nothing to target
groups of voters more effectively. Then
in 2004, Howard Dean began soliciting
contributions via the Web—though the
focus was still squarely on what Trippi
describes as “big donor money and
broadcast media.” To be sure, the Inter-
iMage by rick klaU
Throughout history, political candidates have searched for every advantage
in the quest to get elected. Town hall
meetings, radio addresses, and television appearances have all served as
valuable tools to capture hearts, minds,
and votes. However, as these tools have
evolved, one thing has become perfectly
clear: traditional mass media—despite
its long reach and powerful influence—
16 CommunICatIons of the aCm | feBRuaRY 2009 | vol. 52 | No. 2