From The Wall Street Journal:
An article on the talent and technology behind Bararck Obama’s Internet campaign effort.

 ”Now social networking is shaping up as a potent new force in the 2008 presidential campaign. Candidates are betting that the sites — existing commercial ones or their own newly created ones, like Mr. Hughes’s My.BarackObama.com will expand their power to find and mobilize supporters, particularly elusive young voters who go to the polls at much lower rates than their elders.”

“Several candidates have taken the step of actively developing their own social networks — Mr. Obama, Mr. Edwards and, to a lesser extent, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Sen. McCain of Arizona — in hopes of sparking online support that can be translated into real-world donations and volunteerism. McCainSpace allows people to create home pages inside Mr. McCain’s Web site so they can recruit other people for his team and raise money. In February, Mr. McCain’s Web site attracted some 226,000 unique visitors, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings, making it the most viewed Republican campaign site. But that still lagged far behind Mr. Obama, the Democratic leader, who logged 773,000 unique visitors.”

Read the full article….