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Online Politics 101 E-Book Provides Free Advocacy Guide for Political Campaigns and Citizen Activists

WASHINGTON, June 19 PRNewswire-USNewswire — With the 2008 U.S. elections less than five months away, epolitics.com has released an updated e-book to give political campaigners, advocacy groups and individual citizens a comprehensive guide to using the Internet to promote candidates, shape public opinion, motivate supporters and raise money for political causes.

"Online Politics 101: The Tools and Tactics of Online Advocacy," looks comprehensively at the Internet political organizing methods that work today, with new sections on cutting-edge tools such as Facebook, Twitter and online advertising. Expanded chapters explore topics including online video, viral marketing and online fundraising. The 52-page, free handbook also discusses topics ranging from the essentials of building an effective campaign website to the use of blogs to promote candidates and issues.

"The Internet truly came of age as a political tool in 2008," says epolitics.com founder and editor Colin Delany. "The Internet worked its way into just about every aspect of the presidential primaries, both benefiting and hurting the candidates in the process. From fundraising to the Reverend Wright videos to the Ron Paul army to Barack Obama's new FightTheSmears.com website, we've seen online politics become a central story in the U.S. elections. The 'Online Politics 101' e-book will help campaigns and activists at all levels and of all political persuasions use the Internet to mobilize support and create change."

According to Julie Barko Germany, executive director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University, "It's a no-brainer that the Internet is important for cultivating political supporters and advocates, but it's sometimes hard to separate the fads from the tactics and strategies that work. Online Politics 101 provides an executive crash course in online politics, and Colin Delany is a most excellent guide through the sometimes tricky world of politics on the Internet."

"Online Politics 101" treats Internet advocacy as an integrated subject, arguing that the various online tactics work best when tied tightly together with each other and with a campaign's offline organizing. The e-book lays out several essential rules for online politics and focuses on which methods work best in different settings and why. Featured throughout the handbook are examples of both successful and failed attempts to promote ideas and candidates online. Since its release in September of 2006, over 12,000 copies of the original version of "Online Politics 101" have been downloaded from epolitics.com.

In addition to the new e-book, epolitics.com provides daily updates on the latest developments in the world of politics and campaigning online. Articles have examined trends in online advertising, the growing use of online video, the spread of the Internet as a tool in local politics, the use of text messages for voter mobilization, the importance of behind-the-scenes political databases in getting supporters to the polls and many other online political topics.

A twelve-year veteran of utilizing the web, email and other digital tools in numerous online advocacy and public education campaigns, Delany launched epolitics.com in July, 2006. The site's daily articles are supplemented by occasional pieces from outside communications, campaign and policy experts.

Delany also speaks regularly at online advocacy conferences, and will be attending the Personal Democracy Forum conference in New York City June 23-24. Delany will be back in Washington, D.C., speaking at the Media Future Now lunch on June 25th and at the Democracy In Action conference on June 26-27.

"Online Politics 101" can be read directly or downloaded as a PDF document at: http://www.epolitics.com

SOURCE epolitics.com

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