I wrote two papers for graduate school over the past few days. The first was about online campaigning. I think this topic is fascinating. I talked about how online campaigning first became prominent in 2000, but didn’t really take off until 2004 and now we’re seeing further growth in the 2008 election. It’s interesting how strategies have changed. Here’s my introduction:

In the 2000 presidential election, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) stunned political analysts when he raised several million dollars online following his challenge against George W. Bush (R-Texas) in Iowa. This was a feat that could not have been accomplished in the offline world. It is not surprising that the internet has come to play such a large role in American politics. Approximately two-thirds of urban and suburban publics are connected to the internet, as are about half of rural publics (Bell, 2004). Since then, the internet has become a primary battleground in the American electoral system. Online campaigning is becoming a critically fundamental tool in the presidential electoral process. This can be seen by examining the development of online campaign strategies between the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, as well as the role the internet has played thus far in the 2008 election, and what we can expect to see in the future.

Bell, P. (2004). Rural Areas and the Internet. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project