Wednesday, November 05, 2008

How Obama used the Internet to win

The Democrat exploited networking websites and mobile phones to target voters, leaving John McCain struggling in his wake.

Obama raised £400million and got his supporters out to vote using the internet – and it cost him next to nothing. Websites such as MySpace and Facebook were perfect for reaching a young audience as they are trusted by users. Mr Obama could also hit older people and business workers using professional sites such as LinkedIn.

He raised a fortune by getting hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to donate small sums of £60 or even less. Many gave just £12 a month – but it meant Mr Obama had less need to target multi-millionaires for large cheques.

He also relied on thousands of “bundlers” – volunteers such as housewives or teachers – who set up websites to support him. Each site raised cash, which then went straight to Democrat HQ. And every time new donors pledged support, they would pass on an email to their friends.

Many were puzzled by Obama’s decision to turn up at dozens of low-key campaign events – but he was smartly rallying thousands of grassroots supporters.

Aides also used computer models to give millions of voters a rating based on how they were likely to behave in elections. Using huge questionnaires sent out earlier, programmes worked out who was likely to be a Democrat and where they could be found.

The sophisticated computer techniques were called “data mining”, “cluster analysis” and “statistical modelling” – all under the title “microtargeting”.

It made it impossible for a less sophisticated campaign to compete.

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