Technology and Election 2008

According to the latest Pew Internet & American Life Project survey nearly 46 percent of Americans have used some form of online media to learn about the candidates or -- as is typical for the Web -- share their opinions about them with others, according to the report. That number is triple the visitors to those venues during the 2004 cycle, according to the Pew report. Democrats are benefiting the most from these trends, Pew also notes. In part, this can be attributed to demographics: Younger people, who typically spend more time online, tend to favor the Democratic party. Barack Obama has been the beneficiary of much of this online interaction. Seventy-four percent of Obama's supporters have used the Web to find information about him or to donate money to his campaign, according to the survey. By contrast, only 57 percent of Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters took such actions.