Is Facebook about to elect a president?

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jeff_jarvis/2008/01/the_internet_primary.html

I wonder whether, quietly, Barack Obama might become the first candidate elected by the internet.

It's not as if he has been all that aggressive in his internet strategy. That is, he has been no more and probably less disruptive in his online tactics than Howard Dean was. But I wonder whether it is the internet that has brought together the factors that are making him victorious.

First, the higher turnout among young people in Iowa and New Hampshire is a key factor in his performance in both states, winning in Iowa and a close second in New Hampshire. It has been said plenty of times that young people may get excited about a candidate but they don't show up. Now they're showing up, not only to vote but to jam public events that show the mo'. What's different this time? It could be some magic potion of Obama as Pied Piper, but I think the change may well be the internet. He spoke to young people on their turf and they responded. They made it a point to befriend the bejesus out of him on MySpace and Facebook - they made that their own crusade - and I think media and political strategists thought that was cute but didn't understand the full power and impact of that. It's significant that one of Obama's advisers is a founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes.

This leads to the second factor: the organising power of the internet. To hell with the phone bank and campaign office downtown. And to heck with rallies, for that matter. The internet is the greatest organizational tool ever and both the campaign - and, importantly, the citizens themselves - used it to organize supporters to get out and support.

and quite possibly one situation that might make govts looks twice at peoples use of internets, its a double edged sword.