Steve Hildebrand, one of the architects behind Sen. Barack Obama's unlikely rise to the presidency, spoke yesterday to an Ohio University audience about the importance of online media in mobilizing support during the 2008 campaign.
The former national deputy campaign manager for Obama delivered the keynote address to conclude the first Schuneman Symposium, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
The campaign combined old grassroots methods with new media, the Internet and social networking, to raise an unprecedented $750 million for the race, which changed the political landscape, said Tom Hodson, director of E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
It's something I'll never forget and never regret
Hildebrand said, speaking about his decision to join the Obama campaign.
New media, or the emergence of digital forms of communication available at increasingly rapid speeds, changed the way the campaign was run and how media outlets covered the campaign, Hildebrand said.
The Internet's role for Obama began to increase after he gave his Yes We Can speech. A viral campaign emerged after this address, resulting in a will.i.am. video appearing on YouTube, Hildebrand said.
Utilizing new media, the Obama team built Web sites and used online organization tools such as my.barackobama.com, also known as MyBO. This site allowed followers to create and join groups supporting the campaign, as well as contact undecided voters and post events. MyBO also had a tutorial that viewers could watch to learn how to use the site.
It could bring like-minded people together Hildebrand said.
The Obama team launched an Internet campaign to involve voters, especially millennials. Millennials are the 75 million Americans born between 1977 and 1997, or the 12 to 29 age bracket. Hildebrand referred to millennials as a generation of common values and the activist generation that this country needs to pay attention to.
(Millennials are) a big reason why Barack Obama became president in 2008
Hildebrand said.
In the 1996 election, Hildebrand helped manage the Clinton-Gore reelection effort, and in 2000, he managed former Vice President Al Gore's victory in the Iowa caucus. He and Paul Tewes founded Hildebrand Tewes Consulting Inc., a campaign consulting firm specializing in grassroots strategy.
The Schuneman Symposium on Photojournalism and New Media was a one-day event which explored the influence of the Internet and new media on the election process. The symposium, which will run annually over the next 14 years, was sponsored by alumni R. Smith Schuneman and Patricia W. Schuneman.
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Rachel Ferchak
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Steve Hildebrand speaks at Mem Aud about his involvement in the Obama Campaign and its use of new media. Hildebrand was one of several speakers at yesterday
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