Welcome to the new era of presidential campaigns in America. No previous generation has seen anything like this, and even the 2004 campaign was not this accessible and wired. From the YouTube presidential debates to (legitimate) facebook profiles, the 2008 presidential candidates have taken the campaigning process to a new level. The proxy has an advanced copy of a PR release going out tomorrow, Monday October 15th, about the official announcement of Barack Obama's member profile on Black Planet, the largest African-American social networking community, as well as four other significant online networking communities. Obama's Black Planet profile is very youth-friendly with YouTube links, friends lists, personal stats, and photos, similar to MySpace pages and facebook profiles.
In one day, Obama managed to get more member friends on his Black Planet account than he did in one month on facebook. The power of online networking is limitless with one Black Planet member writing, “I don't normally vote, but if it will help put you [Obama] in office, I will start. I think you [Obama] are one of the most qualified candidates in the running and it's not just because you are black, it's because you stand up for what is right and would make a great leader of this country.”
With still a year to go before the presidential elections, we are in for a campaign of the future and who knows what's next.
