Obama Far Ahead in Internet Sophistication

By Ed Lasky

The Christian Science Monitor's Dante Chinni takes note of some Obama e-mails that serve a few different purposes: "His campaign has proven to have the upper hand in organizing with the Web and e-mail," Chinni reports "About a week ago all his followers received an e-mail asking for 'Your feedback.' It showcases Obama's greatest strength: the ability to take a campaign that is increasingly centered on the candidate and continue to reflect it back on 'you' -- his supporters."

"The latest e-mail gets pretty personal," he continues. "A recipient who clicks the link to provide the feedback is taken to a page asking for all sorts of information (with their ZIP Code already filled in). The issues he or she cares about are at the top of the list. Other questions are about occupation, religious service attendance, group self-affiliation, volunteering history, donation history, and whether he or she speaks Spanish. It is the type of data typically gathered to develop a marketing strategy - or, say, a targeted general election campaign."

Obama may has raised tens of million of dollars on the web. His interactive site is a model of internet savvy and efficiency.

Contrast that with the verdict by experts on McCain's use of the net. He has raised little money and his website has been described as "klunky." There's still time to fix some of the problems but McCain has a long way to go to catch Obama in the use and exploitation of internet resources.