Online Campaigning

In the 2004 elections, blogging proved to be a vital tool for online campaigning.

Campaigns and the political parties created blogs to present their views and ideas and in turn brought supporters and bloggers together.

Alex Rice states "Dean was the first candidate to use blogging, Meetups, and other innovative technology tools as part of his campaign strategy, which created a loyal grassroots network and fundraising base. Dean raised more than $20 million online, showing the fundraising power of the Internet, reinventing campaign fundraising by shifting from a few big donors to countless small donors. These new and important Internet strategies were then adopted in the John Kerry and George W. Bush campaigns, along with political parities and candidates on the state and local level." (http://www.campaignsonline.org/reports/1104.html)

With the growing use of the Internet and all that it has to offer, online campaigning has received a lot of attention.

Hillary Clinton announced her candiacy for the 2008 presidential race with a video posted on her website (http://hillaryclinton.com) titled, "I'm In." Since that announcement she has posted videos titled "Let the Conversation Begin." By setting up her campaign as a conversation, she has invited bloggers to share their ideas on how to make a change.

The evolution of blogging is remarkable. To find out more on the 2008 presidential candidates, the Bivings Report takes a look at the candidates' websites and the growing use of the Internet as a means for political news. (http://www.bivingsreport.com/2007/whos-it-gonna-be-2008-presidential-candidate-websites/)