LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswirek – Kissing babies, stumping on the campaign tour and meeting with the local supporters all seems so… well Web 1.0. Ron Paul’s embraced Web 2.0 with a vengeance.
TIME reports that Texas Congressman and libertarian Dr. Ron Paul represents the new 2.0 candidate, with his success recruiting supporters through new social media channels. But Congressman Paul’s online supporters may run far afield from the typical campaign supporter.
With over 114,000 views, the MSNBC interview with Michelle Shinghal, representing Strippers for Ron Paul, showcased one of the many new and curious groups campaigning online for the Republican hopeful. With some candidates in the 2008 Presidential election embracing every facet of Web 2.0 to get their message out, from YouTube videos to MySpace profiles, your next president may be no further than a friend-add on Facebook.
There is a wide gap between what the polls tell us about campaign frontrunners and the popularity of those same candidates on the Web. The latest numbers from the Gallup Republican Poll put Rudy Giuliani on top, with 32% of support from Republican field, followed by recent announcee Fred Thompson, with 19%. Ron Paul, who has over 61,000 friends on MySpace, is in sixth place with only 3%.
