February 27, 2008
Campaign blog announces one million donors mark met
The official Barack Obama blog announced today they have reached one million donors, much thanks to a poweful online campaign.
What began as a group on facebook has turned into a grassroots movement. Sam Graham-Felsen wrote on the Obama campaign's official blog, "We have officially passed our goal of one million donors - a remarkable achievement that no one ever thought would be possible.” A counter placed on Sen. Obama's website tracks the number of donors.
The next goal announced via the blogosphere is to make 1 million calls in support of Obama, a number that sounded impossible...before the 2008 Election.
Obama isn't the only one to hit the million mark; Hilary Clinton supporters made an impressive 1.5 million phone calls this month and are planning on making 1.5 million more before the March 4 primaries.
In a statement to their supporters, the Obama campaign wrote, "This is an important milestone, not just for our campaign, but also for our party. This level of support will be invaluable as we head toward a general election in which grassroots participation will be more important than ever."
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 26, 2008
Obamamania - Questioning the hype
Senator Obama has undoubtedly used his online popularity to propel himself this far in the presidential nominations; however, talk of a possible backlash is beginning to stir on the Net.
Questioning a candidate whose popularity rivals that of JFK seems rediculous, but the Web has shown signs of strain from supporting Obama in his race for the Democratic Presidencial Nomination. Mixed in with the YouTube videos, blogs, and websites created in support of Obama are popping up "anti-Obama" sites whose creators are fed up with the hype surrounding the Obama campaign.
It has been the grassroots activists and online supporters who have propelled Sen. Obama into mainstream popularity, so bloggers have no one to blame but themselves.
In such a tight race, the online political fervor may aide the Democratic Nominees in spotlighting their positions on important issues. The Obama-mania represents genuine drive, hope, and interest in the Democratic party; the big picture that democrats should be looking at with a sigh of relief.
Is the surge of political bantor taking place on the Web truly about Barack Obama, or are we just starting to realize that many Americans are using the Internet as their main channel for engaging in politics?
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 21, 2008
Saving a Presidential Nomination in the 21 Century: It's not happening online
Hilary Clinton has to do something to counter the momentum of the Obama campaign, but all signs online show that its just not happening.
Although Clinton’s cohorts have tried to rally in support, reportedly providing the campaign with $15 million online in the first 15 days of February, Clinton’s overall online donations pale in comparison to Barack Obama’s. And it's not just money; Hilary seems to be falling short everywhere online these days - from the obvious to the obscure:
YouTube’s YouChoose08 has been a consistent indicator of online supporters for candidates. Obama is beating Hillary 3 to 1. Barack Obama has 29,411 subscribers and 688 videos on his YouTube channel while Hillary only has 10, 401 subscribers and 264 views.
At www.cafepress.com, a website which allows anyone to create and sell t-shirts and other items, Obama-related sales now account for 69% of all presidential-candidate sales; Clinton items are only pulling in a meek 14%. With only 12 days remaining until the Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island, and Vermont primaries, Clinton needs to change her plan of attack.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 04, 2008
Online Donors Propel Obama into Super Tuesday
The political pundit world was shocked at the news that the Obama campaign raised more than $32 million in the month of January compared to Sen. Clinton's $10 million.
The number $32 million is astonishing in itself, but when and how the campaign cash was raised is just as impressive.
Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns have eclipsed fundraising records, but many of those records fell early on in the presidential election cycle. The first quarter of 2007 saw both Democratic contenders fly across the nation in an effort to raise money at big ticket cocktail parties, but the $32 million raised by Obama this January came during the busiest voting period of the cycle so far. Obama did not have time to wine and dine contributors, but instead, he leaned on the online contributor base that the campaign spent a year building.
Clinton's fundraising base is the Democratic Party establishment, which eventually will become tapped out. Obama will be able to go back to well over and over. Small, online contributions will in the end win the day, and serve as an example for a significant campaign fundraising model that can and will outlast the rubber chicken, $2,000 plate, standard fundraising apparatus.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
