The Power of Internet Campaigning

Campaigning by use of the Internet has become the way to campaign for 2008. Candidates all have official Web pages with the ability to donate online, network with other supporters, create a blog or Web site page and leave the candidate messages, just to name a few of the features.

Barack Obama recently became the first candidate to have 100,000 MySpace friends on his MySpace page. However, the use of the Internet to control campaign messages and relay timely information took a turn last week when Obama's campaign fought and won the battle to control the Barack Obama MySpace page.

The page was actually created over two years ago by a supporter in Los Angeles, California. Obama's campaign had the password and was providing messages and information to the creator of the site for posting but they determined that was not enough. In an effort to have complete control of the site, they argued to MySpace that the entire page should belong to Obama and his campaign. The creator, who had invested a great deal of time on the site, was told he could keep the list of registered friends but must give up the page.

The case highlights the struggle between campaigns' desire to control their message versus the power of voter-generated material. And it shows how one person - in this case Los Angeles paralegal Joe Anthony - can become an influence on presidential politics through the power of the Internet.

When Anthony lost the page, he vowed to never vote for Obama, but a personal call from Obama helped to smooth things over.