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The 2008 presidential campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats are using new online tools to attract supporters in hopes of gaining money and volunteers. For example, there is a John Edwards virtual campaign headquarters in the online world of Second Life, which has more than 5 million members, many of whom can vote in the real world. While the technology is new, the goal remains for political candidates to be where the voters are, and today, voters spend much of their time online. According to Joe Trippi, political consultant, candidates learned to stand at factory gates during the Industrial Revolution, and the strategy of campaigning where a community is continues to be effective. Every presidential candidate has a page on MySpace, the social networking site that has over 64 million members. Barack Obama, a Democratic candidate, was the first of the 2008 presidential candidates to sign up 100,000 friends on MySpace. Obama also has his own social-networking site called My.Barack.Obama, and it has allowed two mothers in Virginia to become active in politics for the first time. Ruthi David and Kulia Petzoldt formed Families for Obama on the day he formally announced his candidacy. They report that online tools let them become engaged in the political process, and they estimate that 80 percent of their chapter administrators are also first-time political organizers. Hillary Clinton, Democratic candidate for president, has a site called 'I Can Be President,' which encourages young women, girls, and others to sign up and realize that women can lead the country.
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