techPresident recently noted Kathleen Parker's contrarian view on the widely held belief that the next President will be the one whose campaign best utilizes Web 2.0 strategies and techniques.
Parker believes that the vast majority of Americans simply don't know or care about social networking or Hillary's Sopranos video. Naturally, techPresident counters with the fact that, at least right now, the campaigns must focus on the engaged and true believers (who are consuming online product voraciously). To do anything else would be a massive waste of time, effort and resources. In marketing, you talk to those that are listening.
And, I'll take it a step further. The candidates are really using the internet to sway the "Gang of 500" (so named by Mark Halperin and John Harris in the fabulous book The Way to Win).
"The Gang" are the 500 or so members of the media, consultants and staff hands who "serve as a sort of Federal Reserve Bank of conventional wisdom" that will decide FOR us who the final combatants will be. From the book:
"Gang members believe that it is crucial, before real votes get cast, that someone - specifically 500 someones - probe deeply and pass judgment on a candidate's intellectual timbre, applicable ambitions, philosophical journey and telling life choices."
In other words...which ones look "electable." And, guess who the old media members of the Gang are increasingly being influenced by? The new online media, to which only a few Americans (if you believe Parker) are paying attention.
Thus, the online blogosphere and new media have way more clout than anyone is giving them credit for...except the smarter campaign organizations. They know that the way to the White House is through the Gang of 500 (and they're watching us).
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