The New York Times has published [an interesting article](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?ex=1301634000&en=ea0b065f7525dd07&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) that talks about how politicians in America are starting to use the Internet. In ways bloggers and Web 2.0 officianados have been doing for some time now.
> Democrats and Republicans are sharply increasing their use of e-mail, interactive Web sites, candidate and party blogs, and text-messaging to raise money, organize get-out-the-vote efforts and assemble crowds for a rallies. The Internet, they said, appears to be far more efficient, and less costly, than the traditional tools of politics, notably door knocking and telephone banks.
> Analysts say the campaign television advertisement, already diminishing in influence with the proliferation of cable stations, faces new challenges as campaigns experiment with technology that allows direct messaging to more specific audiences, and through unconventional means.
> Those include Podcasts featuring a daily downloaded message from a candidate and so-called viral attack videos, designed to trigger peer-to-peer distribution by e-mail chains, without being associated with any candidate or campaign. Campaigns are now studying popular Internet social networks, like Friendster and Facebook, as ways to reaching groups of potential supporters with similar political views or cultural interests.
Some Australian politicians are already embracing the technology.
It’s interesting how web technology is developed and used by… well… let’s face it… geeks like me. Then filters down to the masses.