The Internet and the Obama Campaign

a talk by Mary Joyce

The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy

December 1, 2008

first, a brief disclaimer:

this is not official

I do not speak for the transition

or the campaign or the incoming administration

I speak only for myself

presenting public information

historyhistory

What role did the

Internetplay in this

victory?

Election night, Grant Park, Chicago

Old Media

New Media

+

Earned Media

PrintTV

Blogs

Earned Media Paid Media

Old Media

“Free” Media

New Media

Connecting the citizen to the candidate

web site is omni-present = barrier to interaction with the candidate is

lowered dramatically

a virtuous cycle...

$

Fundraising

...low cost of ask means smaller donations are sufficient and more people can afford to donate

$

$

$ $

$

...but it wasn't all about money

asks:phone-banking

out-of-statevoter reg

volunteering

...and what about interaction?

The Internet is cool, but don't lose your focus.

In the end, it's all about getting into a booth and voting

In the end, it's all about getting into a booth and voting

you can only win offline

Title Slide: AP (Rick Bowmer)

Slide 1: Gawker.com, Huffingtonpost.com, the LA Times

Slide 2: CNN

Slide 3: BenSeese (Flickr)

Slide 4: Barack Obama (Flickr)

Slide 5: Barack Obama (Flickr)

Slide 6: extrememortman.com, michale (Flickr)

Slide 16: Reuter's

Slide 25: Eric S. (Yelp)

Image Credits