Obama's Internet Army Eager to Re-Up

The legions of online activists who mobilized to help Barack Obama win the White House were expected to return to their normal routines after the election, but they apparently did not get the memo.

Rather, this group seems intent on remaining active as the new administration takes shape, for the most part using the same networking techniques that led to its formation. That is the finding of a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Direct communication from Obama -- or someone from the President-elect's team -- is an expectation of 46 percent of the 2,254 adult Obama supporters surveyed between November 20, and December 4. Thirty-four percent of those who use e-mail expect direct e-mail communication from the new administration; 37 percent of social network site users expect to receive SNS updates; and 11 percent of phone texters expect to receive text messages from the new administration.

However, many of these supporters are not waiting to hear directly from the administration: 24 percent have visited a Web site affiliated with the transition effort; 6 percent have signed up to receive e-mail updates about the transition or the new administration; and 5 percent have joined e-mail lists or participated in online groups discussing the new administration.

Flying Blind

This is the first time anyone has examined how a winning political candidate's supporters intend to remain involved in his or her administration, Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, told the E-Commerce Times. "In some sense, we were flying blind -- we didn't really know what to expect as we began this particular study after the election was held."

Clearly, there was a huge interest in Obama, both online and off. The president-elect funneled that interest into an unrivaled online network that reached out to unprecedented numbers, according to Rainie.

Once the election was past, he said, Pew began getting calls asking what impact this networked army would have on policy. "We were wondering, 'Would they be easy to mobilize once he gets into office to support his agenda, or would they affect his ability to govern?"

The study's findings suggest the former. For instance, 62 percent of Obama supporters say they will encourage others to support the new administration's policies during the upcoming year. Of these, 48 percent will do so in person; 25 percent expect to do so over the phone; and 16 percent expect to promote the Obama Administration's agenda over the Internet.

Among Obama voters who were involved online during the campaign, 25 percent said they plan to mobilize support for his presidential policies by using the Internet.

Harnessing this group will be interesting to watch, Rainie remarked. "These people were highly engaged in the campaign. They were networking more than we have seen in past political campaigns and mobilizing more supporters."

If they apply the same level of energy and enthusiasm to pushing policy in the administration and through Congress, it could have an impact akin to when President Ronald Reagan went on television in the early 1980s, asking people to support his tax plan. "Congress was inundated with calls," Rainie recalled.

Duplicating the Obama Effect?

Obama's administration will have a vested interest in keeping his supporters active online, David E. Johnson, principal of the political consulting firm Strategic Vision, told the E-Commerce Times.

In addition to helping promote his legislative agenda, they can be tapped for further donations in the next election cycle, he noted. Obama raised US$740.6 million -- an unprecedented total that swamped the combined $646.7 million that George Bush and John Kerry raised in 2004 -- and a sizable portion of it came in the form of small donations made online.

Obama will surely be looking to match, or possibly beat, that record, Johnson said -- and his online supporters will be key to that effort.

Just as surely, the Republican party will be looking to duplicate the strategies that ultimately overwhelmed it in this election cycle. In general, Republicans have not been as savvy in harnessing the Web, according to Johnson, who has worked on several Republican campaigns.

That may be changing, he noted. Two of the candidates for head of the GOP party are leveraging e-tools to make their case. Also, 33 percent of McCain voters expect to stay in touch with the Republican Party or GOP officials moving forward, the Pew survey found.

Whether Obama's methods can be easily co-opted by the opposition -- or for that matter, by other Democrats -- is a burning question.

The online army Obama recruited is not necessarily loyal to the Democratic party, said Johnson. In the run-off elections held in Louisiana and Georgia, the Democrats used the Internet to drive turnout -- but the numbers did not mirror Nov. 4.

That could have been election fatigue, Johnson allowed, "but it is my belief that Obama's success on the Internet is a combination of very strategic and savvy use of the Internet -- plus his own personal appeal."