Today's Chicago Tribune had an interesting piece on presidential candidate Ron Paul and his popularity on the 'net.The piece touches on the impact the Internet is having on presidential candidates - and hints on the impact it could have in future elections.
With the way elections are continuing to move, it will be interesting to see what will become the "Next Facebook" or "MySpace" in the 2012 election. With the CNN/YouTube debates, we saw everyday citizens asking the questions they wanted answers to - for once we didn't have to hear endless talking points about the War in Iraq, but could get honest answers in a more relaxed setting. Were those debates perfect? Of course not - but it's certainly better than listening to someone asking questions relating to their own - or their network's - agenda.
So what will be the next step in the presidential campaign? Hillary's people had supporters (and even non-supporters) send in YouTube videos of theme songs for the former First Lady. Soon will candidates air commercials created by their supporters on laptops and macs in the comfort of their homes?
For someone like Ron Paul, support on the Web is a huge step. Sure, others have supported candidates like Ralph Nader or Ross Perot - but, for once, Paul has stepped over the crucial line and won a tiny contingent of voters willing to work for him and what he stands for - in ways unlike the big candidates (such as Mitt Romney or John McCain).
So while he sports what the Tribune calls an "unimpressive" 2 percent ranking in the polls, he's certainly the candidate who has best put Internet support to use.
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