Search and Social Media: Obama and Social Media: The Medium Is the Message

Monday, December 29, 2008

Obama and Social Media: The Medium Is the Message

Well before the November election, it was clear that both search and social media would be powerful forces in shaping the election's outcome.

In the Spring of 2008, the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported the following Social Networking usage comparing Obama and McCain supporters:

The Obama campaign clearly acted on this and similar research.

As David Erickson of e-Strategy recently pointed out, Obama "set up shop at all the major centers of gravity but also at the major niche networks that cater to specific demographics. Within Facebook itself, they segmented audiences by creating fan pages for various demographic groups.
They even created a presence where you wouldn’t expect to find them, such as at Faithbase. While Democrats have typically not fared very among people who attend church regularly, their mere presence there speaks volumes. People will often give you credit for merely being there; they may not vote for you in the end, but you’ve earned a measure of good will for trying."

The Medium is the Message.

Thanks to David for this list of social networking sites that Obama used to reach voters in 2008.