The internet is widely accepted to have played a huge part in the election of Barack Obama. Now one of Obama’s web team is setting up business in the UK. Could the same thing happen in the UK?

If you did not look at Barack Obama’s website in the run-up to the US election, you might like to do so now before the excitement dies down. Not only will it tell you much about the man who is going to be president, it will also tell you much about how he did it.

It also happened because of the internet, according to Thomas Gensemer.

He is the founder of Blue State Digital, the strategy and software company which spearheaded Obama’s online strategy – and he says the knocking on doors, donations and talking to family and friends were all underpinned by the web.

Labour…is developing its web strategy, through a digital company called Tangent.

Its executive director Greg Jackson says there are big differences between the US and Britain – not least, that Americans know exactly when their elections will be held and can plan two years ahead.

He says online campaigning needs that long-term planning.

John and Sebastian were wondering who was lead geek on the Obama campaign – on Cranky Geeks, this week. This guy certainly was one of them.

The article tells us a bit about Thomas Gensemer and his operation and what it brought to the Obama campaign. He’s in England offering to sell the same services.




  1. James Hill says:

    Another poor interpretation of events designed to help someone make money. Obama connected to young people, which helped him win. The tools he used to do that is secondary (at best), of which the Internet was one.

    If the Internet was that powerful of a tool in and of itself, we’d be talking about President Paul.

  2. moss says:

    Greg Jackson sounds like the sort of 19th Century analyst our Congress has relied upon for so long. I guess the British Parliament ain’t so different, after all.

    I think that with several of the world’s leading advertising and PR firms headquartered in the UK, the Labor Party might have come up with someone approaching expertise.

  3. Dallas says:

    Good article.

    It further makes the point that the internet provides enormous power to the citizen population. Communications is KING. It is why it is controlled in China and other repressive societies.

    The worst enemy to a party that sustains itself by propagating fear, uncertainly and doubt (FUD) is the Internet. That is why the GOP lost, it is why the GOP will continue to lose ground.

  4. SUBMIT says:

    I would SUBMIT that the internet brings even more power to those who control it. You all send more money to the big corps than ever by using it. It’s the biggest joke about freedom there is. DELETE.

  5. GregA says:

    BREAKING NEWS!!!!

    Lieberman has been stripped of his chair!!!

  6. Dallas says:

    #6 Good riddance. Don’t need a Benedict Arnold in the Democratic Party. Send him to Alaska.

  7. James Hill says:

    #6, #7 – Angry liberals fail again. He’ll just join up with the GOP, and still have a voice.

    Owned.

  8. GregA says:

    #8,

    He was top chair of Senate Foreign relations committee. A position of power. He no longer wields that power. Someone else will;)

    So if by Pwned, you mean, even republican operatives in the democratic caucus are getting pwned, yes Pwned;)

    Who’s angry?? I am excited and delighted by seeing people like you pushed to the margin and made irrelevant;) I couldn’t be happier, you have no say anymore;)

  9. MIkeN says:

    Step one, disable all the security checks in the credit card processing software to make it very easy to get illegal campaign donations online. Obama got donations from Adolf Hitler through his website.

  10. James Hill says:

    #9 – Negative. According to http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/, the top chair is Biden is chair.

    You’re owned again. Big smile. 😀

    As for being made irrelevant, you’re kidding yourself. Over the next two years the GOP is going to wind up with more of a voice than its had in the last two.

    The truth is that you’re greatful for people like me, because we give you employment and make the hard decisions for you.

  11. VC says:

    Holes to be mended and darning began. Find mothers needles and pins, every one. Darning doesn’t change. Lots of people are going to be darning with this wreck of an economy we are in. Instead of buying what they’re selling, more folks will be mending what they’ve got. I know, it’s Government 2.0 and all that sort of stuff. The UK is going broke and even the queen is cutting back a little as royal finances are being impacted by the poor economy. It’s tough all over these days.

    “Can you lay eggs?” asked the hen. “Because if you can’t, have goodness to hold your tongue.” “Can you raise your back, and purr, and throw out sparks?” asked the tom-cat. “No? Then don’t talk when sensible people are speaking.”

    I guess we can count on the new eggs to be a different shape with all these changes taking place.

    Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,
    Onward through life he goes;
    Each morning sees some task begun,

    That’s just Business. Work, work, what can you do?

  12. Joseph Heller says:

    “I think the CDS’s lost $2 trillion in October. Nobody even knows how much more is out there. Estimates are $40-50 trillion or more.”

    Your assessment = Pure nonsense. The CDS market is not “worth” $40-50 trillion. You are confusing notional value and value.
    Go and get a $100,000 insurance policy for your house and see how successful you are in selling it for its “worth” of $100,000. It worth is closer to zero.
    The entire CDS market is not worth $2 trillion.
    See the Lehman CDS on DTCC’s web site. Lehman was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States and $5.2 billion was lost (and gained) in Lehman CDS (a very small fraction of what was lost by the Lehman bondholders).
    People who compare notional value to value should stop the fear mongering and do a little homework.


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