>From the dawn of online fundraising to real-time Election Night returns, the Internet and politics became inexorably fused in the course of the 2000 campaign season. Each day brings a new innovation, a new surprise, a new way for candidates and officials to reach out to voters, a new connection between citizens and government. Because you can't afford to miss a single development, we're sending you our Fourth Annual Report on the Internet and Politics in the U.S. and Worldwide. For a limited time only, we are offering free subscription to our e-journal, NetPulse. PoliticsOnline is recognized globally as a leader in the development and provision of tools and services to effectively use the Internet in the political arena. Twice a month, NetPulse provides subscribers with the latest news, analysis, and commentary on e-political developments from all 50 states and from our contributing editors in 78 countries across the globe. Additionally, Net users can read up on all aspects of the Internet and politics in our extensive searchable online database. If you enjoy these features and more, we invite you to become a NetPulse subscriber -- just point your browser to http://netpulse.politicsonline.com and join up! =============================================== 2001 Special Report on the Internet and Politics The 4th annual analysis of worldwide trends, strategies and practices N e t P u l s e - - the e-journal of politicking on the Internet Volume 5, Number 1 Jan. 25, 2001 A project of PoliticsOnline - - Fund-raising and Internet tools for politics For your free subscription, click here (http://www.politicsonline.com ). ==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-= HOTSPOT: With this issue of NetPulse, we announce an easier way to read what's going on with the Internet and politics. Now, you can click online to a special NetPulse Web site - - http://netpulse.politicsonline.com Even better: it's searchable. Enjoy. ==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-= WHAT'S INSIDE: ******************* The political Internet came to life in 2000. For the first time, anybody who wanted to be somebody in politics had a Web presence. Politicians and political professionals turned to the Web to deepen relationships, raise money, build awareness, and organize, organize, organize. In short, the digital campaign came of age in 2000. In our fourth annual Special Report on the Internet and politics, we'll review the lessons of 2000 and showcase the highlights of the year - in U.S. news, international news, ideas, statistics and more. Bottom line: all of these point to something even bigger online in the months and years ahead. OUR 2000 PREDICTIONS: See how well our prognostications turned out. OUR 2001 PREDICTIONS: See what's going to happen this year. HOTQUOTES OF THE YEAR: Two Republicans nail the year's top quotes. NEAT IDEAS: From pop-up windows to satires, the year 2000 was filled with neat Internet ideas. COOL NUMBERS: Six key figures to remember from 2000. WEB SITES OF THE YEAR: The best of political Web sites in 2000. INTERNATIONAL STORIES OF THE YEAR: The top five international politics and Internet stories of 2000. U.S. POLITICAL INTERNET NEWS OF THE YEAR. The top five U.S. stories of 2000 about the Internet and politics. SOUNDOFF: Editor Andy Brack looks at how the political Internet will leapfrog internationally this year. OUR PARTNERS: A quick look at CivisNetwork and Electorales.com JOIN. How you can become part of NetPulse and PoliticsOnline. ==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-= OUR 2000 PREDICTIONS ====================== Here's what we predicted last year. As you can see, we prognosticated pretty well: ** Everyone will agree that the Internet in politics in 2000 is what TV was to politics in 1960. This year, the Internet didn't replace TV, but everybody out there was talking about how it was a "must" for national and statewide campaigns. The seeds of change are sown; we'll continue to harvest for years. ** There will be a defining moment in the 2000 presidential race that is Internet-related. Yep, but there were several moments: John McCain's fantastic post-New Hampshire online fundraising; vote-swapping Web sites; an online primary in Arizona; TV viewers who turned to the Net in the wee hours of the U.S. presidential news coverage to find out what was really going on. ** The 2000 presidential campaigns will raise more than $20 million in total online. True again. PoliticsOnline is compiling a final analysis, but initial results show online contributions in 2000 presidential politics totaled $20-25 million. ** Online advertising will become an integral campaign tool. Candidates used online banner ads and, perhaps more importantly, e-mail and SMS advertising to push their messages. It wasn't widespread, but serious experimentation started. OUR PREDICTIONS FOR 2001 ========================= Here's what we think will happen this year: ** Online voting will be under the microscope. With the Florida chaos, everyone will be looking closely at the potential for online voting. While in the U.S., they'll be talking about it, voters in countries like Brazil, Costa Rica, Sweden and France will actively experiment with online voting in real elections. ** A political Napster will strike again. To net-savvy observers, NaderTrader and other vote-swapping sites were hugely important - not because of the number of votes traded, but because they were the first example of peer-to-peer use of the Internet in politics. Expect another big P2P development in 2001. ** Online issue advocacy will explode. Online advocacy works. It's cheap and a lot of folks around the globe have figured it out. With a deadlocked U.S. Congress, activists will be looking for even the smallest advantage in areas like campaign finance, privacy and more. Internationally, hot online and offline issues will be environment, sweatshop labor and trade. ** E-government will become a political issue. This year, e-government will be every U.S. politician's new favorite issue. At all levels, politicians are starting to figure it out. It's real simple: with online government services, you can do more, it costs less and people want it. With dark economic clouds on the horizon, this one is a no-brainer. HOTQUOTES OF THE YEAR ======================= "The Internet has just changed politics." - - Max Fose, campaign online manager for Sen. John McCain after his N.H. primary win spurred $1 million in online donations in two days, 2/4/00. "Thank you for your e-mail. This Internet of yours is a wonderful invention." - - Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush to Democratic VP Al Gore, after he called for debates, 4/2/00. NEAT IDEAS ========== There were so many neat ideas that it's hard to pick. More: http://netpulse.politicsonline.com. Some highlights: POP-UP WINDOWS. From the moment they started - pop-up donation windows - they spread like wildfire. They were annoying, but a good way to get across the point that money fuels campaigns. (NetPulse 4.04). ROLLING CYBERDEBATES. The rolling cyberdebates (NetPulse 4.19) offered by Web White & Blue (http://www.webwhiteblue.org) offered an extended five-week discussion on presidential issues by six candidates. NATIONAL DATABASE. The Republican National Committee tested a Web application this year that would allow Republican candidates to go online in a password-protected area to access voter files. Such a national database (NetPulse 4.22) could have a huge organizational and fund-raising impact. SATIRE PETITION. A Canadian television show started a petition to get Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day to change his name to "Doris." It was wildly successful with more than 900,000 signatures (NetPulse 4.23). CALL YOUR GRANDMA. The Third Millennium and Citizens for Better Medicare generated an online wildfire of interest in its Medicare reform site, CallYourGrandma.com, when it offered users a free 10-minute phone card to discuss its issues. Great use of the Net by an advocacy group to build interest in an issue. COOL NUMBERS ============== Surveys and poll numbers show the Internet is expanding its reach politically. For the latest, go to the Cool Numbers section of the PoliticsOnline Web site. Here, however, are some Year 2000 highlights: ONLINE VOTING. Some 35 percent of Americans said in September that they thought they should be able to vote online. About half were Internet users; 18 percent who wanted the online power were not Internet users in the survey by TV Tech and Rasmussen Research. MILLIONS VISITED, CAUSED DELAYS. Online news outlets experienced exponential growth in traffic from Election Day forward because of presidential results. On Election Day, for example, CNN's traffic jumped 439 percent (NetPulse 4.23) and was churning through 2.5 million hits a minute (NetPulse 4.22). The huge amount of traffic, however, caused substantial delays, according to various sources. LEARNING ONLINE. Two in three Americans said they'd turn to the Net by Election Day to learn something about the candidates, according to July poll by UPI (NetPulse 4.15). REGISTRATION. Some 1 million Americans registered online to vote by June, The Economist reported (NetPulse 4.13). The number was projected to reach 5 million by Election Day. CONNECTED ALL OVER. The U.S leads Internet penetration (51 percent of households connected), but European countries are making great strides toward increased connectivity. Some 31 percent of British citizens are connected, 25 percent of Germans and 17 percent of the French (NetPulse 4.18). GIVING. One percent of visitors to Bill Bradley's Web site donated money (NetPulse 4.09). WEB SITES OF THE YEAR ===================== More than 50 political professionals and activists from around the world served as NetPulse contributing editors in 2000. In this Special Report, we offer our fourth Best of the World Wide Web awards chosen by our editors and users. Winners were top Web sites that exhibited editorial excellence, rich content, political relevance, good use of the new technologies, and innovation in combining politics and the Internet. MOST VALUABLE INTERNET PLAYER OF 2000: Sen. John McCain (http://www.mccain2000.com). Sen. John McCain's New Hampshire primary win served as the spark that made politicos realize the importance of online fundraising. McCain, who raised $1 million online in just two days after the N.H. election, raked in the bucks and became every campaign's bellwether to measure online fundraising success. For his vision to allow his campaign to use the Net's potential, McCain is our MVP of 2000. Runner up: The RNC's Larry Purpuro for putting the Republican Party on the path to maximizing new uses of the Net. NET EVENT OF THE YEAR: VP Gore halting Election Night concession because of Web results. For five weeks, the U.S. plunged into presidential election uncertainty. The main reason: When Vice President Al Gore was on his way to concede in the wee hours of Election Night, an aide noticed updated results on the Florida Secretary of State's election Web site that showed a huge drop in George W. Bush's numbers. Gore decided against conceding and the rest is presidential history - all sparked by the Internet. GENERAL POLITICAL SITE OF 2000: CNN's AllPolitics (http://www.cnn.com/allpolitics). So many of our politico friends and contributors remarked at the breadth of coverage provided by CNN's AllPolitics that it earned best General Political Site of 2000. Last year's runner up, CNN boosted its coverage and became an industry news leader. Runners up: Voter.com (http://www.voter.com), Freedom Channel (http://www.freedomchannel.com) and WashingtonPost.com (http://washingtonpost.com). INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SITE OF 2000: PoliticsWatch (http://www.politicswatch.com). This full-service Canadian political portal features a U.S. political look but is filled with resources and information about Canadian politics. It's well-done, well-used and a thorough addition to your bookmark list. U.S. CAMPAIGN SITE OF 2000: AlGore.com (http://www.algore.com) Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore's campaign made the best overall use of the Web in its campaign. From easy-to-use news and issues to high-tech toys like Palm Pilot news delivery and frequent Webcast opportunities, this "father of the Internet" proved he knew what he was doing online. U.S. ELECTED OFFICIAL SITE OF 2000: WhiteHouse.gov (http://www.whitehouse.gov). WhiteHouse.gov offers a complete online record of the Clinton Presidency. It offers information for a wide range of users - - tour information for tourists; historical trivia for kids; calendars and more. Political wonks can wallow in radio addresses, press releases and every executive order issued over eight years. BEST PARODY SITE OF THE YEAR: GWBush.com (http://www.gwbush.com). Not only did GWBush.com rack up more early hits than the official George W. Bush presidential site, but organizer Zack Exley's site got under the skin of the Bush folks so much that they whined to the FCC to intervene. Talk about impact - this site had it. (NEW AWARD) BEST TECHNOLOGY USE OF THE YEAR: Nader Trader (http://www.nadertrader.org). Just when you think things are getting boring, somebody comes up with a new way to do something. Hats off to the folks at NaderTrader and clone sites for launching and organizing to allow Gore supporters in safe states to cast ballots for Ralph Nader for a trade of a Gore vote in a swing state. There's no telling of the real impact, but the grassroots idea is a perfect use of the Web to try to make a difference. INTERNATIONAL STORIES OF THE YEAR ================================== A look at the top five international stories about the Internet and politics in 2000: A CYBERWAR RAGES IN THE MIDEAST. Israelis and Arabs are at each other's throats on the Web, as we reported in NetPulse 4.21. Israeli hackers posted pro-Israel graphics and music on Hezbollah's anti-Zionist Islamic Web site. But pro-Arab activists struck back by sending hundreds of thousands of "hostile electronic signals" to official Israeli sites, according to The Washington Post. Online tensions show no signs of abating. BRITISH SURFERS PROTEST DURING FUEL CRISIS. Had it not been for the Internet and mobile phones, this fall's huge protest about fuel prices likely wouldn't have happened, The Register reported (NetPulse 4.18). The electronic tools allowed protesters to communicate and organize. Furthermore, keeping up with all of the information, protesters were able to organize live protests and interfere with petrol deliveries. FILIPINOS USE INTERNET TO TRY TO OUST PRESIDENT. Filipinos flooded cyberspace and jammed phone lines in October in a protest against President Joseph Estrada. The online effort was in stark contrast to minor street protests about allegations that the president was linked to a gambling syndicate. As the episode wound down, Web protests failed to generate the 1 million online petition signatures sought by organizers and Estrada remained in office. But protests showed how the Net could be used to drive political events in the Philippines. (NetPulse 4.21, 4.22). FIRST AFRICAN INTERNET ELECTION. The Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe exploited e-mail and used its Web site to transfer political information in what The Financial Times in June called Africa's first Internet election. The MDC's use of the Internet fell short, but its efforts early this year was the first real challenge to the ruling Zanu-PF party. MDC got 59 seats in Parliament, compared to 62 by Zanu-PF. (NetPulse 4.13). VIRTUAL SEATS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA? In an illustration about how far the Internet has gone in Australia, the state of South Australia this year considered reserving two seats in its upper legislative chamber for virtual voters. The plan, if it had been approved, would have allowed expatriates to have a chance to participate in government online. (NetPulse 4.17). U.S. POLITICAL INTERNET NEWS OF THE YEAR ========================================= This round-up of the top five U.S. Internet political stories shows new ways the Internet wove its way into politics in 2000: 1. Americans flood the Internet for election and post-election news. When the television networks called the presidential race for Gore, for Bush and then declared it a toss-up, Internet users around the world turned to the Internet to see the real results. Such a phenomenon - believing the Net more than the TV - highlights how powerful the medium has become. In the weeks that followed, major news Web sites from CNN and MSNBC to political party sites broke traffic records. And another thing happened - the uncertainty spawned the Internet as the national watercooler. People shared jokes online about the Florida mess. They created new satire Web sites. They launched petitions. And they raised Cain. All in all, the Internet proved its strength as a great communications and organizational tool during - and after - the U.S. elections. 2. Online politics first: Arizona hosts first Internet primary. The Arizona Democratic Party held the nation's first binding Internet presidential primary on March 11. More than 35,000 people used the Net to vote - almost triple the number who voted in the party's traditional 1996 primary. The primary, however, wasn't all hunky-dory. The Voting Integrity Project tried to shut down the primary. There were some security problems during the primary. But when it was all over, pro-online voting advocates hailed it as a success. Others said online voting needed work. Online voting as a real alternative surfaced again following the controversy surrounding the Florida presidential results. Just about everywhere you turned, another pundit was writing about online voting. More: See PoliticsOnline's Media Reference Center. 3. Vote-auction, vote-swap sites provide election twists. One of the most clever uses of the Web was attempts by sites to sell or trade votes during the U.S. elections. While authorities in Illinois and other areas quickly moved to shut down vote auction sites for violating laws (the site moved offshore and the creator eventually said it was a satire), vote swapping sites followed and caught fire. The idea, generated from a newspaper column, worked like this: somebody in a swing state who wanted to vote for Ralph Nader would trade their vote with somebody in a safe Gore state to do two things: push Gore over the top in the swing state and help Nader get at least 10 percent in the safe state. In view of the election results, some say it worked too well ... for George W. Bush. More: NetPulse 4.17, 4.20, 4.21. 4. The Internet at the big political conventions: dud or dandy? The Republican and Democratic national conventions featured all sorts of gizmos, gadgets and doo-dads. SpeakOut.com, for example, featured an online dial meter during speeches. Pseudo.com's 360-degree camera sounded cool during the GOP convention, but they bagged the effort later. Neatest thing: Hackers helped reporters in Philadelphia cover protests by publishing police scanner frequencies. Most observers say the first online conventions were neat, but filled with more glamour than substance. Major news outlets experienced 14% to 25 % drops in traffic. Sites had all sorts of technological problems and delays. Bottom line: Good first effort; more substance needed next time. More: NetPulse 4.16, 4.17. 5. McCain's campaign energizes online donations. Sen. John McCain's Straight Talk campaign lit an online fundraising fire (NetPulse 4.04) following his Feb. 1 primary victory. By combining the online tool with telephone solicitations, he raked in $6.4 million online by April (NetPulse 4.09). His campaign's use of the online fundraising component was sparked in part by vigorous use in 1999 by Democrat Bill Bradley. But McCain showed his commitment to the Web by using it to have the first online fundraising cyberconference (NetPulse 4.03) and using the Web for damage control (NetPulse 4.03). SOUNDOFF ========= The political Internet: Leapfrogging toward worldwide innovation By Andy Brack Editor CHARLESTON, S.C. - Like an unruly teen-ager in a growth spurt, the Internet came into its own in American politics in 2000. Now that the Internet is an accepted and must-have political tool across America, look for growing international uses over the next couple of years. Politicians and parties around the world now will turn to the online examples set by Al Gore, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader, John McCain, Bill Bradley, Steve Forbes and a host of others to see what worked and what didn't. They'll improve on what was done in America and take the medium to the next level. They'll make advances to make the Net deliver a better organized electorate and field campaign. They'll boost Internet advocacy and communications mechanics. And they'll make online fundraising innovations. This game of political Internet leapfrogging will continue - Americans now will learn from people throughout the world, just as they learned from Americans. The political Internet in the U.S. won't be stagnant, though. Look for more developments and cool uses of the medium in 2001. Bottom line: Innovations from the 2000 election cycle will rub off internationally to create what truly will become the World Wide Political Web. OUR PARTNERS ============== NetPulse and PoliticsOnline is expanding its global reach through key projects in Europe and Latin America. For full coverage of e-politics around the world, you can also go to: ** Civis Network - This European portal is being developed by PoliticsOnline as a citizens' information and activist network for citizen action in Europe. More: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ** Electorales.com - Our new Latin American partner is the premier political Internet news and tools provider for Spanish-speaking markets worldwide. NEW FREE STUFF! ================= PoliticsOnline (http://www.politicsonline.com) continues to be the leading provider of political Internet information and tools: NETPULSE. Now it's easier than ever to access NetPulse, the biweekly e-journal of politicking on the Internet. With this issue, we unveil our new site - http://netpulse.politicsonline.com. Visit this new site and you'll see how easy it is to find archived information through our new search engine and array of links. THE WEEKLY POLITICKER. The Weekly Politicked debuted this year as a weekly roundup of the news on everything that's going on with the political Internet. Used in coordination with NetPulse, you won't miss a thing involving the Internet and politics. INSTANT ONLINE FUNDRAISER, VERSION 2.0. Our highly-acclaimed immediate fundraising solution has a host of new enhancements that will make it easy for your campaign to receive contributions. Our software allows your campaign to use the power of the Internet to raise money through a secure platform. JOIN ==== If you'd like to be a part of the PoliticsOnline team, contact us at: Phone: (843) 853-3002 Fax: (843) 722-4283 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Publisher...........................Phil [EMAIL PROTECTED] Editor...............................Andy [EMAIL PROTECTED] VP Operations (Intl)....Brannen [EMAIL PROTECTED] VP Operations (US)............Sally [EMAIL PROTECTED] CIO..................................Arun [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dir. of Bus. Devt..................Trey [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content editor.....................Andy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Webmaster.........................Russell [EMAIL PROTECTED] All information contained herein is copyright (c) 2000, 2001 by PoliticsOnline. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited.
