Get Viral!

Today's Technology Daily features some great info about the viral effects of the internet. Here are a few excerpts:

The 2006 election illustrated the power of video spread virally by online activists and other candidate allies. Some political observers have argued that the now-infamous video in which Sen. George Allen, R-Va., called a volunteer for his opponent a "macaca" may have tipped the balance in that Senate race -- and thus to Democrats in the entire Senate.

Colin Delany, who offers new media strategy advice and observations at e.politics, said video is so much more powerful than any print description "because you can pick up so much on someone's body language." He said the benefits to viral video are twofold: 1) People are more likely to actually view something from a friend; and 2) by going viral, candidates are put "in touch with a new audience."

"Someday your boss is going to come to you and say, 'Make me viral!'" said Benjamin Rahn, president of the ActBlue Web site that raises money for Democratic candidates. But the drawback is that viral video is spontaneous, he added. "It's not something you can apply a certain number of people and dollars to and make it happen."

... Chuck DeFeo, who served as the e-campaign manager for President Bush in 2004, said bloggers have become a filter "that has to be listened to now" by politicians and that have become a source of material for mainstream media. DeFeo believes the good that will come from the inherently democratic medium is greater participation in the democratic process. Historically, he said, the broadcast media talking at an audience coincided with a decline in democratic participation and voting. "The Internet has reinvigorated political participation, and that is a healthy thing for democracy.