Obama Connection - every picture tells a(n online) story

Every picture tells an online story.

In a recent Gallup poll conducted in 70 countries that represents nearly half the world's population, 30% of respondents preferred Senator Obama as president of the United States against 8% for Senator McCain, with 66% of Japanese and Australian respondents preferring Obama to McCain.

(Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/22/2398181.htm?WT.mc_id=newsmail)

Why does he seem to engage people's interests, even outside of mainland USA? 

The research for the book I'm writing gives an interesting perspective. By October 2008, Obama ran one of the world's most astute online engagement campaigns in history. Here are the facts:

• According to Hitwise, he regularly attracts 68% of all weekly presidential campaign-related web traffic.
• According to data marketing company Compete, he regularly generates 2.6 million weekly unique visitors to his official website.
• He has 740,000 MySpace friends.
• He has over two million Facebook fans.
• He is ranked the 15th most connected individual on business online network, Linkedin which numbers 26 million users, predominantly US senior business professionals and executives.
• He has 105,000 followers on online networking platform Twitter.
• A hip-hop music video set to an Obama “Yes We Can” speech was posted repeatedly on YouTube with the top two postings alone being viewed 10 million times.
• According to techpresident.com, he had 31,192 subscribers on Youtube compared with 2,844 for his rival, John McCain in February 2008. One of the most popular Senator Obama videos is a clip of him tripping over a roadside kerb while reading a message on his Blackberry device.
• In the last few weeks leading up to the campaign, itwire.com reported that the Obama camp launched an iPhone software application called Obama ’08, that provides the user “instant access to Barack’s positions on important issues, as well as local and national campaign news as it happens”. The application promised “comprehensive connection to the heart of Barack Obama and (vice presidential running mate) Joe Biden’s campaign”.

He has also raised tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds over the web, mostly is micro-donations from masses of individual supporters. I think I know who has the mandate of the connected individual.