Call it charisma, call it a cult of personality – however you frame it, the Obama campaign is profiting from a groundswell of popular support.

Politics aside, ‘Obamamania’ is sustained by the savvy use of online tools to build community (yes – networks!) and momentum, providing some helpful lessons for advocates and activists of any stripe.

Sarah Lai Stirland highlights some of these online tactics leading up to the Potomac primaries in her 2/12/08 blog on Wired (excerpt below). But don’t get excited purely because these are cutting edge tools. Be sure to read on to see how I think they change they’re game changing in a real way, and suggestions for how to bring this thinking into your own work.

• The campaign organized volunteers to make thousands of phone calls to get out the vote. It reports, for example, that it made 5,000 calls in Spanish in Virginia alone using its online Spanish phonebanking tool ...[during the Potomac primaries] the campaign also texted supporters' mobile phones to remind them to go to the polls. (Obama eventually won 54% of the Hispanic vote in the Potomac primaries.)

• The campaign in addition held a series of "real-world" events, photos of which it constantly posted on its headquarters' blog in order to emphasize the sheer physical size of its supporter base.

• Hoping to take advantage of an assumed surge of supporter emotion, excitement and momentum, the campaign immediately sent out another text alert around 10 pm Eastern time [during the Potomac primaries]. It let supporters know that CNN had called the primaries for Obama. Campaign organizers included a request to spread the word. "Fired up? Ask friends to join our movement by texting HOPE to 62262," read the victory message.

• Outside groups have also helped Obama. MoveOn, whose members recently endorsed Obama, just raised $500,000 for him. They also created an online Endorse-a-thon widget that enabled its members to engage in a peer-to-peer online endorsement campaign by sending out 500,000 e-mails and Facebook messages to their friends recommending the candidate.

• Obama supporters all over the spectrum have in the past few months engaged in a multi-media viral marketing campaign with online music videos and humor. Along with the celebrity endorsements, these activities seem to be fueling what can only be called Obama fever or Obamamania.

• The Obama campaign itself, it seems has gotten into the game. Its 21st-century version of the auto bumper-sticker is ring tone mash-ups of Obama's speeches, which are sure to be conversation starters about the candidate and what he stands for between the owner of the phone and whoever's in the vicinity. "

And what about the Republican frontrunner John McCain's use of the online space? Says techpresident:

Unless we’re just not hearing about it, there seems to be almost no voter-generated activity occuring on behalf of McCain. Yet the anti-McCain Yes We Can parody has been viewed more than 700,000 times. On our charts, McCain has so many fewer Facebook supporters, YouTube views, and blog mentions than Obama (or Clinton) that it’s hard to even compare them. We wonder how well this lack of online enthusiasm bodes for him.

What’s different here? How do ringtones, text messages and photos make a real difference? These tools and tactics aren’t just exciting because they’re cutting edge. They’re changing the nature of engagement with supporters. Here’s how:

• They foster conversation between supporters. This is game changing. Long gone are the days of talking at supporters. It’s now a conversation, and the folks on the other side are likely more invested and fired up because you/your organization/network care (and respond to) what they have to say.
• Yes, you respond to what supporters say. Don’t just start a conversation for the sake of starting a conversation. Your organization/network should respond, incorporate and use these conversations. How would your organization use 300 photos taken by your supporters illustrating what climate change means to them? Would it personalize your campaign? Would it surface new sides your your issue? Are the photo-takers likely people want to get more involved/volunteer/organize/donate?
• They put power in supporters’ hands. This is key! Messages are made more popular, more exciting and more diverse by enabling supporters to take the reins. Give constituents the basic tools and let them go. Consider for example the Hilary Clinton "1984" You Tube parody posted months back by an Obama supporter. The campaign had nothing to do with the creation of this video, and it had a great impact on popular opinion on Obama's main competitor. Yes, there are concerns here. Messages can be hard to retract (see my Feb 11 post on the Netcentric Campaigns website on letting go of your message). But the reality is that in many ways you can't retain complete control over your image or message. The Obama campaign didn't tell supporters "it's ok to create parody videos of Hilary Clinton". Someone just did it. How you use these actions, and even facilitate them, is the real issue.
• And keep in mind you can benefit from much of what's already happening. Flickr photos, YouTube, Google Earth satellite images - much of this content is free and easy to use. Your organization does not necessarily need to build these tools itself.

Certainly not every tool decribed above is right for every organization or network. But I think it's fair to say that organizations who don't even have these tactics on their radars are increasingly behind the game. Know what's out there, know what your opposition is using, and invest in the medium-term visioning and planning necessary to fully engage in this new, dynamic and wired space.