McSpanked: Obamination Online.
Via Twitter, I came across a breakdown of social media and search trends by both candidates which shows how much Obama dominated in all areas. While not an official study, and while methodology is always important, this one wasn't even close. It covers general trends instead of breaking down specific demos the way more targeted exit polling does. Because of that, you can draw any conclusion: On one hand, you can say Obama's numbers reflect more participation by youth. On the other, you could also say McCain's base relies on more traditional media like TV and radio, so his online numbers might be lower.) Because of how Obama changed organizing online, future campaigns have something to measure themselves against.
A few key numbers:
Google Search Results:
- Obama: 56,200,000
- McCain: 42,800,000
Facebook Supporters:
- Obama: 2,444,384
- McCain: 627,459
Twitter Followers:
- Obama: 115,623
- McCain: 2,218 4911
Comments
thanks for the link Bill,
Just a clarification, John McCain has only 4911 twitter followers. On my original post it was 2218, but I posted a John McCain fan site by mistake instead of the original, so i crossed it out. Ironically the McCain fan blogger twittered a lot more updates than the official campaign 948 vs 25.
I observed a fascinating phenomenon on Twitter during the debates. There was a sudden explosion of anti-Obama Twitter accounts which had been coordinated to swarm and dial the whisper campaign up to 11.
This technique is apparently called ASTROTURFING (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) and was staggering in its message continuity and general ugliness.
Democracy at its most purulent.