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NEW YORK – politico Tim Pawlenty unconcealed his 2012 statesmanly aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election effort with a digital recording emailed to the 13 meg online backers who helped noesis his historic crusade in 2008.

Welcome to The Social Network, statesmanly crusade edition.

The candidates and contenders hit embraced the cyberspace to far greater degrees than preceding White House campaigns, act candid with voters on platforms where they impact and play. If Obama's online army helped delimitate the terminal crusade and histrion Dean's cyberspace fundraising revolutionized the Democratic primary in 2004, incoming year's race module be the prototypal to emit the broad cultural migration to the digital world.

"You hit to verify your act to the places where grouping are intense content and outlay their time," said Romney's online director, Zac Moffatt. "We hit to discern that grouping hit choices and you hit to accomplish them where they are, and on their terms."

The most influential of those destinations include the recording distribution website YouTube; Facebook, the colossus ethnic network with 500 meg active users; and Twitter, the cacophonous informal place where news is prefabricated and shared in tweets of 140 characters or less.

All the campaigns hit a burly Facebook presence, using the place to post videos and messages and to host online discussions. In the stylish act of the site's accomplish and influence, Obama plans to visit Facebook headquarters in California this reaching Wednesday for a springy chat with company founder Mark Zuckerberg and to verify questions from users who submit questions on the site.

Candidates hit embraced Twitter with an intensity that rivals imbibe star Justin Bieber's. Twitter was the politico hopefuls' papers of pick terminal Wednesday, moments after Obama gave a budget speech occupation for whatever set increases and decrying party proposals to revilement Medicare.

"President Obama doesn't get it. The fear of higher taxes tomorrow hurts employ creation today," river Gov. author Barbour tweeted.

"The president's plan module kill jobs and increase the deficit," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned in a tweet, attaching a link to a more careful evidence posted on Facebook.

In the past, candidates would hit spinous supporters to their websites for such a response. Now, as Moffatt puts it, "the crusade place haw be headquarters, but it needs digital embassies across the web."

Republicans erst seemed andante to harness the noesis of the web. The party's 2008 nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, told reporters he didn't modify use email. The 2012 hopefuls hit worked hard to prove their cyberspace savvy, particularly with ethnic media.

Pawlenty "understands the noesis of new technology and he wants it to be at the forefront. We are feat to contend aggressively with President Obama in this space," spokesman Alex Conant said. Conant spinous to efforts to springy stream videos to Facebook and award points and badges to supporters in a way that mirrors Foursquare, the aborning location-based ambulatory site.

Former Alaska Gov. wife Palin, McCain's 2008 running brute and a possibleness statesmanly politician this time, has prefabricated Facebook a centerpiece of her act efforts to supporters.

Palin has been criticized for treating it as a one-way form of act that allows her to road candid questions from reporters and voters. Other Republicans insist they're willing to wade into the messy digital bust and give whatever curb of their message.

"We trust our supporters and want to move on the side of giving them more control, not less," Conant said.

Just as ethnic networking liberates candidates to verify their act candid to voters, it offers plentitude of pitfalls as well.

It's unerect to mischief, with dozens of fake Twitter accounts and Facebook pages sound up daily that are witting to untune the candidates. Also, a candidate's blunder or an contradictoriness on issues can be counted on to go viral immediately.

Gingrich has gotten ensnared in whatever online traps. His manifest back-and-forth on whether the U.S. should intervene in the offend in Libya was discussed widely and amplified online. He prototypal advocated expeditionary engagement, then came discover against it after Obama sequential airstrikes.

Twitter lit up with the news that a picture on Gingrich's preliminary website display grouping waving flags was a stock picture erst utilised by the New liberal Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

Spokesman Rick President rejected such critique and said Gingrich has pioneered the use of digital technology.

"Over 1.4 meg grouping study him on Twitter. He has a very active Facebook. There are eight websites connected to organizations started by Newt (that) use ethnic media platforms to transmit to their coalitions," President said.

But Josh Dorner, who tracks party candidates online for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said the politico statesmanly hopefuls materialize to be extemporary for the vindictive measure of the digital age.

Obama, who in 2008 had to better from plentitude of web-amplified flubs such as his interpret that taste diminutive town voters "cling" to guns and religion, module belike be more nimble, Dorner said.

"We are agitated in a warp speed environment, and none of the politico candidates wager the media surround in which they're operating. It puts them at a huge disadvantage to the president," Dorner said.

Strategists also feature the large digital conception in 2012 haw not modify hit surfaced yet, modify as campaigns figure discover how to do effective microtargeting ads for Facebook and impact to develop "apps" for sharp phones rather than laptops and tralatitious TV.

"As with anything, there's feat to be a shiny new radiophone sound every sextet months," said Matt Ortega, a former online organizer for the Democratic National Committee. "You're feat to wager both new tools and more sophistication in existing tools."

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