Even into the final days of the U.S. Presidential campaign, the Internet played a significant role, as it has throughout most of the season. Both presidential candidates made use of the channel to advance their respective messages, whether by outlining their positions on their websites, distributing campaign messages via video, or using online ads. Perhaps most important was the way the Internet changed the candidates' ability to fundraise in smaller increments from a much larger donor base.
In the waning days of the campaign, both candidates inundated their email lists with last minute pleas to contribute money for advertising to be used in the remaining days. It should not be much of a surprise, then, to find that the number of visitors to the candidate websites spiked in the last week. In particular, BarackObama.com peaked at 730,000 visitors in a single day on Tuesday, October 28 -- 125% higher than an average day over the preceding two months.
This was truly an historic election for reasons that are too many to count. One of the stories that is certain to go down in the annals of history was how this was the first national election where the Internet was truly front and center in determining the landscape and eventual outcome of the election. The Internet has forever changed the game of politics and I can only wonder what 2012 will have in store for us...