Three examples showing how the candidate has been let down by a total absence, top to bottom, of any coherent interactive online presence:
First, I follow "Sarah_Palin" on Twitter, from whom I recently received these direct messages:
Sarah_Palin
Hi. Just wanted your thoughts on Obama's aunt being found in South Boston... Have you talked to people about it?
Sarah_Palin Right now, the issue that's resonating is that Obama accepts donations from non-citizens, like his aunt. She's illegal and on welfare.
Sarah_Palin Right now, the issue that's resonating is that Obama accepts donations from non-citizens, like his aunt. She's illegal and on welfare.
Days before the election, and this is the best you got? This type of appeal is really going to attract young voters or independents?
Even though "Sarah_Palin" does have 3,626 followers, I have no idea if she/he actually is connected to the campaign. [This person replied to two Twitter direct messages from me today asking for more info: "I'm not on Governor Palin's staff ... I'm just an enthusiastic supporter of Sarah Palin, not paid by or related in any way to the campaign or the GOP."] There seems to be zero reference to Twitter at all on JohnMcCain.com. So the campaign fails here, and this supporter has failed. This is how you waste an opportunity. Twitter is a way to connect and build relationships. All ya' gotta' do is make an effort to be real. These examples are just ... creepy.
Part 2: As of 11 a.m. EST today, The most recent post to The McCain Report by Michael Goldfarb, one of three official campaign blogs linked from JohnMcCain.com, is 10 days old. Admittedly, official campaign blogs really are mattering less and less, as other online tactics are proving very effective. But the message this sends is one of incompetence.
Part 3: As I write this, the current post on the campaign's more straightforward "McCain Blog" is a video entitled "Mac is back," with AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" as soundtrack. Fine. But the visuals are nearly pointless. We mostly see the candidate, the running mate, the candidate's wife, etc., walking around a lot. Waving to crowds. The way to communicate the fact that enthusiasm for John McCain is peaking and is actually impacting the race is to show the people. The rallies. The faces. The signs. The energy. The campaign is making some positive gains, and there is plenty of enthusiasm across the country, utterly ignored by the mainstream media, but the McCain campaign's media and Web teams seem at a loss to capture it, show it off, exploit it. Thunderstruck, indeed.
McCain supporters have to be shaking their heads.
Trust me: We are.
So then the question: How much does this matter? The McCain campaign says it made 3 million voter contacts by phone on Sunday. Does that matter more?
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