Barack Obama ran a transformational presidential campaign that soared above his rivals in leveraging the power of technology, and there are clear signs that the new Obama administration will utilize technology in new ways as part of its effort to be a transformational presidency.

Use of technology is nothing new in politics, as sophisticated databases and computer systems have been in place for decades to increase the efficiency and sophistication of polling, direct mail and other traditional tactics. But Obama's campaign set a new standard in two ways: He made online a central front in his campaign and heavily utilized new and emerging technologies to raise money to recruit, mobilize and inform supporters.

With primary rival Hillary Clinton far ahead in levels of support among traditional Democratic leaders and fundraisers across the country, Obama had no choice but to rely on online channels to build a new constituency of matching strength and potential. This strategic decision, along with the natural synergy between Obama's youth, visual appeal and rhetorical gifts with the style of the Internet, gave Obama powerful new ways to use the online channel as a positioning, communication and organizational vehicle.

Obama's reliance on the online channel for his campaign—and his likely plans as president—leveraged important trends in media consumption. The Pew Research Center found that 33 percent of Americans (and half of young Americans) received most of their campaign news online in the 2008 presidential election, compared with ten percent just four years earlier.

During the campaign, Obama's brand, message, activities and communication style were all optimized for the online channel. His website routinely received two to three times more traffic than those of his leading rivals, topping out at nearly ten million unique visitors in late October. He had four times as many online friends as John McCain and more than three million supporters on Facebook. His YouTube videos were watched almost 100 million times, and he frequently distributed campaign announcements via text message and email, often before giving them to the mainstream media. His campaign used blogs, photo galleries and even a mobile ringtone to build energy and excitement among his supporters. Through these and other efforts, Obama was able to secure more than ten million email addresses of supporters. This positioning was not accidental—the campaign spent more than $500,000 on its Facebook strategy alone.

One of the Obama campaign's most significant accomplishments was its ability to use the energy created online to achieve meaningful results. Obama worked with Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes to launch his own social networking site called MyBarackObama.com, which recruited more than eight million volunteers, attracted more than 500,000 accounts and helped organize more than 30,000 supporter-created campaign events in all 50 states. Obama's online fundraising prowess was well-documented; nearly half of all his campaign donations came from small donors over the Internet.

Obama's campaign was the first to utilize interactive text messaging, and he built the program by promising exclusive or first access to key announcements (such as the vice presidential pick) to text-message recipients, which encouraged more than three million to register their numbers with the campaign. The campaign also encouraged supporters—especially young supporters—to help shape the media narrative about his campaign by applauding their activity and empowering them with tools. By freeing up this powerful part of his base, Obama allowed supporters to overwhelm social media sites with pro-Obama content, some of which was featured by mainstream media reporters (YouTube's self-proclaimed "Obama girl" was parodied on "Saturday Night Live.")

Harnessing Online to Transform Government

As the transition to his presidency moved forward, a key question has been what Obama will do to harness the online support, infrastructure and strategy he has built. Every indication is that he plans to use the online channel to govern as significantly as he used it to campaign in the following ways:

• Transforming communication. Obama is likely to be a "new-media president," utilizing the online channel to have an ongoing conversation with the American people. The WhiteHouse.gov and other government Web properties are likely to be transformed from broadcast channels to interactive social networks that include elements like comment-enabled YouTube videos as a 21st-century version of the fireside chat, discussion areas to solicit feedback on policy positions and the needs of Americans, and blogs and Twitter feeds to give every American deep insight into the workings of their government. Agency websites will also be more interactive. It will take the effort of the entire U.S. government to respond to the avalanche of input from 300 million Americans once they are asked.
• Shaping policy. Obama has already solicited policy suggestions for healthcare reform on his Change.gov site. In addition, he has announced that plans to enact a five-day comment period before signing any non-emergency legislation to allow Americans to register their point of view and become more a part of the legislative process.
• Mobilizing grassroots. Obama could be the first sitting president with his own grassroots army in place; he easily could mobilize the ten million supporters for whom he has email addresses or mobile phone numbers in unprecedented ways to lobby Congress and other political leaders to push his legislative priorities. In addition, Obama will undoubtedly be aggressive in raising awareness among his supporters about important legislative actions and debates, such as during barnstorms across the country to rally support for some of his proposals.

Implications for PR and Public Affairs Practitioners
President Obama's apparent desire to use technology to humanize the Office of the President, enhance transparency, grow participation in policy debates and keep citizens involved with their government will have a profound impact on how companies, associations and coalitions advocate on their own behalf. Here is advice for practitioners in the public affairs and public relations fields:

1. Online is essential. Online communities, and the passionate debates they support, can be difficult to navigate, penetrate and influence, but avoiding them in any campaign is very risky in today's world.

2. Adapt your style. Obama's campaign clearly reinforced that personality wins online, as do informality, personalization and a high degree of interactivity. It is better to adapt the corporate culture than lose the battle online.

3. Empower others. Although it is preferred to route all communication through trained expert spokespeople, one main lesson of the 2008 campaign is that although letting go creates some risks, the rewards can be astronomically high.

4. Build online coalitions. Find your allies online and work hard to get them active—provide the tools and platforms if necessary. These online coalitions are increasingly important, and political leaders within the new administration will pay attention to them.

5. Mobilize the grassroots. Grassroots mobilization has evolved from helpful to absolutely essential. Direct lobbying of the White House and related agencies by citizens not only will be easier and more effective, but also welcomed by Obama's Administration.

6. Find and use the best tools, tactics and channels. There are millions of online communities and hundreds of different ways to get things done online. Finding the right mix of tactics, and the right targeting strategy, can make the difference between winning and losing.

This article was also published in the Council's "Inauguration Edition" of its Issue Monitoring Report. A PDF can be downloaded at www.prfirms.org.