MORE and more presidential candidates are equipping themselves with online tools to sway voters, especially those in the 18-35 age group. Some instances:
Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat, announced on YouTube his decision to explore a presidential bid a month before his official announce- ment.
Democrat front runner Hillary Clinton used a month-long vote on her website to pick a campaign song.
Former senator John Edwards, another Democrat contender, asked his supporters to add to his 'We the People' TV spot by uploading videos on YouTube.
The former Massachusetts governor, Republican Mitt Romney, is asking supporters to create an official television spot for him using a mash-up of video clips.
MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group, sponsored two online Democratic presidential debates focusing on the Iraq war and energy policy and will sponsor a third on health care in a few weeks. Some of those clips were watched at least 11,000 times on YouTube.
Later this month, social networking site MySpace plans to start a series of forums for Republican and Democratic candidates. Each will feature one presidential candidate speaking in a college campus hall before MySpace members. The meetings will also be put up online, where users can SMS, e-mail or instant message their questions and vote on how well the candidate has answered questions.
MTV and MTV.com have similar plans.
A national Internet presidential caucus is planned for December, with the involvement of Stanford University's Centre for Deliberative Democracy and the University of Virginia's Centre for Politics. Voters will meet in person to pick a nominee. Information about local caucusing sites and the results would be compiled and posted online.
Some candidates who do not figure much in the mainstream media appear more popular on the Internet, like Republican Ron Paul, according to TechPresident, which tracks candidates in online social media.
BHAGYASHREE GAREKAR