I was stuck in LA traffic last week and passed the time by listening to the Hugh Hewitt radio program on the Technology gap between Republicans and Democrats. I was just about to summarize this evening when I found his link to the transcribed program. Perfect! That saves time.
There are some good lessons there. The hub of the show centered on defining the massive technology advantage Dems held over Republicans during the election. There is a big generational difference to communicating with the “younger generation” –under 40 years old perhaps. Obama and Co. used the Internet as a platform for communications masterfully. They got it. The Republicans did not. End of story. Many have said that Obama would not have been elected without the use of the Internet. Maybe not, but so what? At least he knew it was there!
Several hours ago, terrorists struck in Mumbai, leaving many dead and hundreds wounded. Early reports indicate that Westerners were targeted too. In addition, the threat level today against New York transportation is higher than normal because of possible Al Qaeda terrorist chatter.
What’s the point? Terrorists have used the Web pretty effectively to get their message out, recruit, fundraise, and even sometimes plan attacks. On the other hand, Obama’s campaign did a great job of assembling an extremely effective communications strategy using new media over the web.
The US really needs to up its game worldwide on its messaging and communications plans, and disrupt and counter terrorist propaganda. This is one area where I’ll look for the US to make huge improvements. I’d like to see some of these political lessons and skills using new media applied to national security interests. The stakes are much higher.
View Hugh Hewitt radio transcript here.
And Happy Thanksgiving!
