E.politics points out seven things that can be learned from Obama’s journey through the primaries, the biggest of these being that we live in a social media world, whether one likes it or not. However, that may not neccesarily be a good thing:

Before we crown Barack Obama the King of internet Politics, let’s ask him how he feels about all those Reverend Wright YouTube clips scattered at the base of his throne. Sure, the Democratic nominee-to-be benefited from the ‘net in significant and almost certainly decisive ways, but he also got kicked around plenty online. Just about every candidate suffered similarly, from the anti-Hillary “1984″ ad and the John Edwards haircut video to that great footage of Rudy Giuliani in a dress.

But beyond that, one tactic that’s been prevalent in the Obama campaign is to make him a brand. Again, this may not serve well, because Obama will then have to get over the idea that he is nothing more then the product of the Democratic party. Then again, G.W Bush sure did, so I have confidence in Obama. But Obama has certainly gone out of his way to influence people to make him a household brand. As Douglas Rushkoff pointed out on his commentary about the Obama brand:

From the beginning of his candidacy, I felt as if the Obama name and image represented a new way of doing things more than it exemplified it. My own sense of cynicism reached a peak when Oprah Winfrey began campaigning for him. I’ve watched her similarly enthused by fakers from Tom Cruise to the founders of The Secret. Oprah’s “energy,” if you will, is that of national branding. Oprah + (insert your product here) = MegaBrand.

But Rushkoff also says several positive things about Obama being a brand: "Obama does offer a non-polarizing and inclusive alternative to traditional political engineering, and we must embrace the possibility that America is ready to engage with itself and the rest of the world in this way." It might honestly be the best thing to happen to democrats since Bill Clinton.

Remember that being a brand now carries a form of credibility, but others may see your brand as a conglomerate, or not grassroots. Especially here in the blogosphere. People talk about creating a brand for their blog/book/product, but few take in the fact that brands have their own problems. Returning to Rushkoff:

Brand mythologies alienate people from one another and insert themselves in the place of real relationships. Instead of buying meat, corn, drugs, or soap from local producers, we buy them from A&P, Green Giant, Wal-Mart or P&G. These national brands have great mythologies, but serve to disconnect us from one another, and distribute power to those with capital and away from people who actually do work.

In other words, when you’re enjoying that high and mighty brand you’ve created, you’ve essentially cut off the rest of the world. Good for corps, but bad for bloggers. Still, though, Obama’s use of the internet is paying off. As Sifry states:

He [Obama] is riding herd on the largest and most potent new political organization anyone has seen on the American landscape in at least sixteen years. He’s probably got anywhere from four to eight million email addresses on top of his 1.5 million donors and 800,000 registered users of my.barackobama.com, his social networking platform.

That same social network allows people to crowd-source ideas for Obama, whether it’s campaign strategies or ideas to do as President. It has made him a very powerful figure on the internet. Out of all the candidates, Obama has used social media to its greatest, and it shows.

One last fact: Barack Obama has the 3rd highest amount of followers according to Twitterholic, losing only to Kevin Rose and Leo Laporte, in that order. I might also add that there’s a bit of a social media feud between them as well….

Summary

• Social media is a double-edged sword as a rhetorical tactic
• Branding youself has its advantages and disadvantages
• A social network is a great place to source ideas and spread your word