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In February, traffic to The Huffington Post blog beat out The Drudge Report with 3.7 million unique views, according to research from Nielsen Online, and Technorati ranks the site as the second-most-linked-to blog behind only TechCrunch. This New York Times article investigates the secrets behind The Huffington Post's rising status, including its "internet newspaper" aspirations, which might lead to sections focused on local content and a broader range of subject matter.
Political bloggers might not comprise a representative cross-section of the population -- they tend to be white, male, well-educated, and upper income -- but blogospheric buzz can still be a political predictor because of the influential power these bloggers yield. Politically active bloggers are almost seven times more likely than average Americans to be perceived as thought leaders among their peers, according to this article from the Oxford University Press blog.
Politicians have long relied on word of mouth from their supporters to spread their messages and, according to this All Things Considered broadcast from NPR, as water cooler conversations have migrated online, viral marketing is proving to be a significant game-changer in this year's presidential campaigns.
Members of the None of the Above Political Action Committee have tapped restaurant chain Jack in the Box's mascot as their top choice for president, and have dedicated a website, DraftJack.com, to their efforts. While the primary directive of the site is to give people a forum to voice their opinions on the current presidential hopefuls, they tapped Jack as their representative because he's a likable "man of the people" and they feel he would certainly represent the "change" all the candidates are touting.
This article takes a look at all the ways word of mouth -- especially online WOM vehicles -- are affecting the 2008 presidential campaign and swaying voters' choices. Interactive environments paired with online/offline mashups, such as the ABC/Facebook debates, are providing lots of conversational fodder, as well as a forum for conversation.
In the political arena, big ad budgets aren't enough to beat out the power of people talking. According to The New York Times, "two weeks before the caucuses, 94% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans reported taking part in recent discussions concerning at least one candidate," and candidates with the biggest ad budgets didn't come out ahead.
On the Search Marketing Gurus blog, Li Evans examines the online marketing strategies of 14 of the 2008 presidential candidates, taking a close look at the tools these hopefuls are using to connect to the American people. Evans is focusing especially on blogging, social media, SEO, and PPC strategies and is grading each candidate according to their finesse with each technique.
Popular blog Techcrunch is adding a new category to the slate of issues facing 2008 presidential candidates: technology. Techcrunch is using a variety of social media tactics, from podcasts to blog posts, to get the word out and encourage readers to choose which candidates the blog will endorse -- based primarily on the candidates' understanding of issues that crop up from the tech sector.
2008 election candidates are quickly realizing that social media, from YouTube to Twitter and everything in between, is changing the way they interact with voters, are able to respond to challenges, and the ways in which opposition can be voiced. So how are candidates responding?
The European Union is taking a closer look at privacy matters and social networks. Specifically, the EU's report names spammers, unscrupulous marketers, and criminals as potential threats to social network users' privacy.
Learn how the "I Got a Crush on Obama" video became a political, viral sensation with millions of views on YouTube. Ben Relles details what he did to make it happen.
A new study from a group of physicists in Italy shows that, when it comes to their votes, people are more likely to listen to their friends than politicians' policies.
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