is considered to be a pioneer of campaigning on the internet and especially political fundraising via the Internet. However, a perfect example is the election campaign of Barack Obama, whose online campaign applied a new standard.

Nobody can deny that the internet is connected to nearly every part of modern society. Since more and more people use the internet frequently and a company like Google becomes more and more powerful, the internet has to play an important role in politics. This paper covers one aspect of this connection.

By discussing the advantages of the internet as a communication platform, the advantages of the internet for an election campaign, and the examples of Howard Dean and Barack Obama this paper will prove that the internet is the key to win a presidential election campaign these days.

2. The Internet as a Communication Platform

First of all, there are numerous features of the internet which make it the most perfect communication platform and with this an excellent instrument for politics. Communication is one of the most important aspects of politics, especially when it comes to election campaigns. When politicans want to win an election they have to make sure to reach as many people as they can with their election program.

This can of course only be accomplished through the media. In the past, politicians used newspapers and flyer to spread their messages. Later, radio and television were added. The new medium of the 21 ^st century is the internet and it had a much bigger impact than radio and tv. The main reason for this is maybe that it is more unbounded than radio and tv. Instead of TV or radio shows with certain time limits, there are websites which are available as long as the respective server is online.

This enables a fast and unlimited communication around the clock. People do not have to wait for a certain TV show to get a particular information, they can search for the information whenever they want. Additionally, the information they find can also lead to another information and so on. This leads to another great advantage:

The internet is in a way the center or node of all media. Everything which can be seen on TV, read in a newspaper, or heard on the radio can also be found on the internet. In some cases a TV or radio show is even based on information which was created and/or found on the internet before. The internet has in a way developed into the first contact point for news and information. Additionally, the cost to use the internet is comparatively low considering how much the internet offers. The main part of the cost to use the internet is the computer which yet has not to be

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an expensive one. Someone who does not have a computer (or an internet connection) still has the opportunity to visit an internet café. Basically, everyone (in a modern country) has the possibility to use the internet.

Another advantage of the internet compared to radio or television is that information can be transferred in more than one direction. There is not just a producer and a consumer but the consumer can become a producer itself. A person who reads any news or information can immediately comment it more or less directly or the person can redirect the information to another person. In other words, it is a You-to-them, Them-to-them, and Them-to-you information transfer on the internet.

This feature creates another advantage. Any news which comes up in the media becomes widespread in a fast and direct way through the internet. An excellent example for this is the social network Twitter. For example, the Los Angeles Fire Department used this service to spread news about the forest fires in South California in 2007.

Further, the fast information transfer through the internet makes it possible that many people who have a certain opinion towards a particular issue can create a communication platform to discuss that issue on the internet. They do not have to meet up face to face and all people no matter how many they are can come together on one place - their virtual community.

3. Advantages for an Election Campaign

All these features of the internet as a communication platform lead to further advantages of the internet for an election campaign. Traditional media like radio, newspapers or television can never provide these advantages. By that, every politician who does not use the internet for a campaign wastes great potential.

The main aspect of the online part of an election campaign is of course the own website of the politician. It is like the central point of all activities on the internet. The politician can post news or his election program here and he can react to everything which was said about him in the media. Besides this, on http://my.barackobama.com for example, people could sign up at the website and immediately start to support Barack Obama with his election campaign. One big advantage the internet provides for an election campaign is the possibility of new fundraising strategies. Since online payment is so easy and becomes safer and safer through services like Paypal, politicians can offer their supporter the opportunity to donate small or big amounts fast and easy. With this, great fund can be raised through many small online payments. Howard Dean and Barack Obama are excellent examples for this strategy.

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The already mentioned easy community building through the internet improves something which is essential for every election campaign: recruiting volunteers and supporter. Everyone who wants to support a politician can easily write his friend an email or invite him into a particular group on facebook without any engagement. This is much better than going after votes on the street. Further, the internet provides a better and easier organization of an election campaign. Especially free supporters can use the internet and several websites to organize meetings or activities. For example the website http://www.meetup.com helps people with a common interest to organize a meeting, which was used by the supporters of Howard Dean.

Other websites which help organizing activities but also let politicians (and their supporters) post news or other important informations concerning the campaign are as already mentioned Twitter or Blogs. Additionally everyone who reads the news or information can comment or redirect it and so helps to support the respective politician. Podcasts and newsletters can also fulfill this function, better and more direct than a newscast on TV or an article at a newspaper would do. Social Networks like facebook are good opportunities for politicians to get in closer contact with potential young voters. They can create their own profile there and publish it to other people registered on facebook. This helps to create and maintain a modern image and to get new young supporter and voter. Further everyone who is registered on facebook can create and join certain groups which simply stand for an individual interest and where people can discuss topics concerning that interest. In december 2008 John McCain had 594.095 supporters. By that time, Barack Obama had 3.423.094 supporters. This shows which great impact a profile on facebook can have.

A website which can have a huge influence especially on young people is http://www.youtube.com. On youtube everyone can publish own videos and everyone else can watch it. It is no secret that videos can cause more emotions than simple pictures or written text. Politicians and their supporters know this and they can use this. The famous rapper will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas used a speech of Barack Obama, created a rap song out of it, and published it on Youtube. It became enormously popular in just a few days and over 15 million people watched it.

Finally there is another fundamental advantage the internet provides because of its free and interactive character. Since everybody can use such websites like youtube or social networks and so on everybody can do a little piece of campaigning in a positive or negative way. That means one can support his respective politician with videos, blogs, pictures, messages, and so on - or he can damage the image of the other candidate with the same instruments but with negative publicity. That means even rumors about one candidate can be spread and the other candidate will not be held

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