Watch "21st Century Campaigns." [2]

New tools and communication methods are reshaping campaigns. ILF panel "21st Century Campaigns" brought together Mindy Finn, former director of the 2008 Mitt Romney campaign and leader of strategic partnerships at Twitter; Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge; and Andrew Bleeker, digital director at Hill + Knowlton and founder and president of Bully Pulpit Interactive to share their extensive experience in this relatively new field. Finn remembered in the "old days" - eight years ago - that “it used to be the digital campaign on one side, and then everything else. Now it is the campaign.”

Sohn began by listing some of the threats she sees to the open Internet. Large corporations, particularly those that control the pipes through which information flows, have been attempting to shape these technologies to meet their own interests. With large numbers of lobbyists influencing policy in government at all levels, Sohn fears that the open Internet is at risk. However, the fight against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) last winter showed ways in which individuals, bolstered by technology, can push back against corporate policies that threaten these new public spaces.

Khan kicked off the general discussion by asking, “is technology the great equalizer?” Ten years ago, Finn responded, the campaign formula was simple. “You raise the most money, you win.” Now, because of the grassroots coming together through technology, upsets are much more common. “Every time the media says ‘Oh, what a shock!’ It shouldn’t be,” she said.

Bleeker noted that the fundamentals of elections haven’t changed: you still need more votes to win. The real question is how online organizing has changed offline organizing. For example, why do people continue to donate small amounts of money online? “Because online you can create sense of community with supporters. Together they have an impact.” Sohn drew examples of online and offline organizing from the fight against SOPA. “Mixed media, blog posts and other alternative means alert people to what's going on.” That struggle, she explained, was driven by a loose coalition of many different groups joined on nothing more sophisticated than a weekly phone call and was largely structured from the bottom up.

Many in the audience were interested in ways to integrate new media into their own campaigns. “How would you like to be communicated with?" Finn asked. "Then go forth and do the same.” Politicians, she observed, worry about being safe and do not understand networks and information flow - resulting in boring communications that are not engaging the people they want to reach. Bleeker advised authenticity. Sohn agreed, finding that mixing her personal tweets and her Public Knowledge tweets makes her more of a person to her followers, not just a policy wonk. 

Reaching voters has radically changed with new forms of communication. Bleeker noted that with mobile technology, improved data for outreach, and the rise of social networks, people can more easily mobilize and be their own field office. 

Although there might not be many more new technologies since 2008, Finn said that the innovation in 2012 is “smartly integrating all of the tools out there.” Social media is far more of a factor this cycle, she noted. Facebook and Twitter are now fully integrated into campaigns. Digital media isn’t just for fundraising; it is now used to mobilize people. Sohn agreed, saying particularly that the prominence of Twitter has changed significantly. Bleeker pointed to the power of some of the relatively older technologies, particularly email. Campaigns ignore these effective methods in a rush to the new at their peril.

With technology such a great equalizer, Sohn believe absolutely that it should be a right. “Technology is the only way to fully participate in societies around the world,” she said.