"Tracking Ron Paul's Internet Boom"

"Congressman Ron Paul's surprising second place finish in Fox News' debate watchers text message poll was just the start of his increasing popularity. Paul had received little mention as a true contender for the GOP nomination, yet he earned 25% of the vote and is leaving political analysts scratching their heads.

"It is not just the Fox News poll that shows a jump in support for Paul since the second Republican Debate last month in South Carolina. According to TechPresident.com, Paul's MySpace support has jumped over 20% to 15,000 "friends." Moreover, Paul's YouTube stats have increased 621.2% with 533,314 video downloads. Nearly one million people have visited the Ron Paul YouTube Channel, which is second only to Barrack Obama. Earlier in the week, he appeared on the popular YouTube channel DomeNation, speaking about his recent quarrel with fellow Republican Rudy Giluiani.

"Paul's online support is beginning to translate into tangible results offline. Last Friday, the congressman was hailed as Bill Maher's "new favorite person" on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. A rally was held shortly before the taping of the show, completely organized by supporters unaffiliated with the campaign through Eventful.com. His campaign is hiring staff in the early primary states, and the campaign claims to see a spike in fundraising. So why is Paul conquering the web, yet barely registering in the minds of the established media?

"Paul's anti interventionist message combined with the utilization of internet-based technology has made him arguably the Internet's most popular Republican politician. Because of the Web he is able to reach millions of voters without raising or spending millions of dollars. How far will this internet boom carry the Republican dark horse in his quest for the presidency?"

The Latest PoliTicker, PoliticsOnline, 06/01/07