Personal Democracy is running a series this week on the role technology played in the 2006 elections and what role it will play in future elections. They asked a group of “technologists, politicos, bloggers, and journalists” to send in their take on the issue.

The best take I’ve seen so far (including my own) was from David Weinberger, a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and coauthor of the Cluetrain Manifesto.

“The old quip about AI applies: As AI succeeds, it’s no longer counted as AI. In this cycle, what was groundbreaking two years ago now seems normal. Bloggers help shape the discussion. Sites aggregate info about who’s raising money from whom. Candidates have blogs. Campaigns post YouTubes. They use the Internet to organize feet on the street. They raise money through email. And, they avoid talking about the details of their proposals by mumbling the URL of their Web site. The Internet transformation is well under way.”

You can read the first set of submissions here (mine is in this batch) and the second set here.

About the Author
Todd Zeigler
Todd Zeigler serves as the Brick Factory’s chief strategist and oversees the operations of the firm. In his sixteen year career in digital, he has planned and implemented campaigns for clients including the Pickens Plan, International Youth Foundation, Panthera, Edison Electric Institute, and the American Chemistry Council. Todd develops ambitious online advocacy programs, manages crises, implements online marketing strategies, and develops custom applications and software. He is bad at golf though.