In '08 Race, Web Tactics Are Even More Integral

IN '08 RACE, WEB TACTICS ARE EVEN MORE INTEGRAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
As the role of the Internet expands -- and diversifies -- in the 2008 cycle, all campaigns are trying to develop Web strategies, but often with different short-term goals. Web is about buzz as much as it is a tool. An ability to convey early online success of some kind has an importance all its own. With at least 13 candidates actively in the running so far, and the New Hampshire primary still 10 months away, it is a way for campaigns now to show concrete momentum and garner crucial early attention. "You had the money primary. The endorsement primary. Now, you have a Web 2.0 primary going on concurrently with the traditional money and consultant chase and stuff like that," says Howard Mortman, a former MSNBC producer, blogger and now head of the public-affairs practice at New Media Strategies, an Arlington, Va., Internet market-research firm. Some analysts say such attention is overblown. After all, Mr. Dean, after cleaning up the informal netroots primary, didn't win a single physical primary or caucus. "There ain't no winning or losing except on Election Day," says Phil Noble, a political consultant who specializes in Internet strategy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117426203668540945.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
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