What Does It All Mean?

Just for fun, today I visited Digg the Candidates - a spot on the popular social networking site that ranks the current Presidential candidates.

It would seem that although online supporters are very passionate about their candidates, they simply don't reflect the "real world" - and by that I mean the general results (to date) in the Primaries. While Web2.0 helps those who are passionate about a candidate, spread the word, it doesn't necessarily mean that anyone is listening.

I think what the chart above tells us is how younger voters are leaning. Watch the exit polls from the coming primaries and see if you don't spot the same trend - especially in the Democratic race.

I think it's no surprise that the leaders from each party (on this list) seem to have the easiest time raising money online, which is then (ironically) spent on traditional media (TV, radio) to get their campaign messages out to the rest of the population.

But watch this trend over time. If Obama doesn't win the Democratic nomination this year, he's already garned huge support online (at sites like this as well as his own candidate site). This is a huge asset that he can reuse in another four years - an asset that some of the other candidates simply don't have.

If I was a member of congress, I'd be spending time building an online community, whether my re-election was imminent or not. In future, I bet it'll be the fastest and most efficient way to raise money and to keep a potential campaign team constantly "engaged".

It's all about "reach". And garnering each constituent's permission to conduct a conversation.