I doubt that any of this will be a surprise to our readers, but for a very good deeper look, go read FOB Greg Mitchell's analysis.
NEW YORK "The 2008 election was the first in which more than half the voting-age population used the internet for political purposes,” a new report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, released late today, reveals. It also concludes, "Obama supporters were more active online than McCain supporters and online political users became more partisan in their information-seeking behavior."
Some 55% of all adults said they went online for news and information about the election or to communicate with others about the race. The percentage of Americans relying on the internet as a major source of campaign news more than doubled since the 2000 election (from 11% to 26%).
Obama backers took advantage of various emerging web activities – from text notifications to posting original content -- much more than McCain supporters, by roughly 3-2 or 2-1 margins. Fully 15% of Obama backers donated to his campaign online, compared with just 6% on the McCain side.
The survey, indeed, found that social media platforms and video-sharing sites “played a key role in 2008 as voters went online to share their views with others and try to mobilize them to their cause."
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