Barack Obama is crushing John McCain when it comes to raising funds on the Web, the Economist reports. In June, the Illinois Senator raised $52 million for his campaign--$31 million of which came from
donations of $200 or less. Most of these came from the Web. On Facebook, Obama has 1.3 million supporters to McCain's 200,000. He is also using Twitter, the microblogging service, to spread the word
about his every campaign move. Former Howard Dean adviser Andrew Rasiej claims that Obama "understands the DNA of the internet" in a way that John McCain simply does not (McCain has admitted as much).
Peter Daou, Hillary Clinton's Internet director, says that YouTube, more than any other Web site, has had the biggest impact on the race for the White House. For example, artist Will.i.am's
pro-Obama "Yes We Can" video has been watched nearly 8 million times since it was unveiled six months ago. Meanwhile, "Raining McCain", the most-watched ode to the Arizona Senator, has been viewed
less than 2 million times.
Both candidates also have their own YouTube channels. In all, Obama's videos have been viewed 52 million times, compared to McCain's 9.5 million. Obama's most
popular video is his 37-minute speech on race in America; it has been viewed 4.7 million times. Next up: The Google video site is moderating a contest asking users to submit short two-minute videos
about why they are supporting either Obama or McCain.
Read the whole story at Economist »