|
Web sites that inform on Web campaigning are highlighted in terms of the role of the Web in campaigning; showcasing of activists and critics; public information; campaign funding; blogging; and technology advances. Among some of the best sites for staying current on candidates' activities is E-Democracys Presidential Launch Pad, an informative and well-organized site. For every candidate, there are many unofficial and official sites, e-mail lists, and automated searching for news, blogs, discussion groups, videos, audio, images, and other content. The Web is still mostly a grassroots medium that works well to ease tasks for activists, observers, and critics. Sites highlighted include EMILY's List, rightmarch.com, MoveOn.org, Rock the Vote, and MeetUp, which has over a million members. Project Vote Smart maintains a national library of factual information about candidates and elected officials. Other public information sites highlighted are On the Issues, The Green Papers, and SelectSmart.com. To learn the sources of financial support for candidates, visitors can go to Follow the Money,OpenSecrets.org, and Political Money Line. Blogs highlighted include blogforamerica.com, Daily Kos and Lies.com, and Yahoo! provides annotated directories of political Weblogs and 2004 presidential election blogs. Internet in U.S. Elections says Web sites only reinforce political preferences, and do not create them. The trend will change toward the Internet when high-speed access is ubiquitous and when computers are used as TV sets are currently used, which is to 'watch' coverage of candidates.
|