John Edwards, the e-Candidate

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Video Blogging

Some strategists say Edwards is simply more at ease with new technology than other heavyweights. "He gets it in a way no other candidate has yet," says Nancy Scola, a former Hill staffer and Howard Dean campaign volunteer.

She contrasts Edwards' approach to that of former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, who also employed video blogging and other online tools as he weighed a bid last year. But Warner came off as stiff and uncomfortable online, says Scola, who organized his much-hyped press conference in online virtual world Second Life. Warner later dropped out of the race, citing family and the desire to "have a real life."

Edwards has stayed engaged—even while out of office—in large part through OneCorps, which he established after the election as a sort of Web-powered service organization. It boasts user-generated content, blogs, community forums, and multimedia.

Behind the Scenes

Through OneCorps, he and his wife, Elizabeth, and their 25-year-old daughter, Cate, embraced blogging. Edwards has raised more than $440,000 online through ActBlue, an organization that aggregates small online donations for Democratic candidates. While he hasn't raised as much overall as Clinton, he's raised more than anyone else through ActBlue.

Edwards' site has undergone a transition as his campaign geared up for a Presidential run. User comments and multimedia are playing a less prominent role, for example.

But the new version of the site incorporates all the popular technologies du jour: FaceBook and MySpace (NWS), profiles (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/31/06, "A Vote for MySpace"), photo documentation via Yahoo's (YHOO) Flicker, Web-based fundraising, and behind-the-scenes video footage.

Edwards' efforts go beyond broadcasting via new outlets. He's also roped in liberal bloggers and their readers, participating in chats, for example, on sites like DailyKOS. Last summer he headlined Gnomedex, a Seattle tech conference attended by Web luminaries like podcasting pioneer Adam Curry and RSS visionary Dave Winer.

And Robert Scoble, the former Microsoft (MSFT) evangelist and influential tech blogger, was among bloggers traveling with him when he announced his candidacy. "His Web sites are ahead of the others," Scoble says. "[He's] setting a very high bar."

Possible Hurdles

He has to, considering the challengers he's likely to face. Clinton has enlisted the aid of prominent political blogger Peter Daou. And Obama's podcast series has been among the top downloads on Apple's (AAPL) iTunes. Clinton and Obama had the support of a higher percentage of respondents in a USA Today/Gallup poll of Democrats conducted Jan. 12-14.

What's more, even the most effective online strategy doesn't necessarily translate well to print and other media. "The coverage of the Edwards YouTube video in The New York Times just looked ridiculous," says Julie Germany, deputy director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University.

Even with the growth of Web-based marketing, campaigns are still driven by television and radio spending. Even Dean, who harnessed the Web effectively in the early stages of his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination in 2004, sunk all the money he raised online into TV ads. Says Sabato: "The Internet is simply another piece of the puzzle, a new wrinkle."

But it's an increasingly important medium—and one that Edwards is poised to dominate.

Vella is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in New York. With reporting by Rachael King in San Francisco.