With Barack Obama inching closer to victory in the ensuing Democratic presidential primary battle, the internet has proved to be one of the key tools in his success. It may well give the Democrats a major advantage during the Presidential race as well.

The above observation has been made by Steve Schifferes of BBC News in an essay titled ‘Internet key to Obama victories’. As the article notes, the Internet has been fast moving to the mainstream of the US political spectrum. In his presidential campaign it has been particularly significant for the Barack Obama campaign that started from scratch with scarce resources and hardly any name recognition.

The internet gives the outsiders an ability to mobilise supporters, money and resources online. The more nimble and efficient use of the internet by the Obama supporters in the early stages of the campaign helped him overcome the huge early lead of Hillary Clinton in the Democrats presidential nominating race. Some key internet ‘stunts’ include the independently developed ‘Obama girl’ mock advertisement on YouTube that helped increase his public profile early on.