The power of communities

I read an interesting article about the power of communities, as demonstrated in the recent election. The important part is quoted is below. My highlights are in red.

These numbers from Meetup.com ought to be Exhibit A in countering those who still pooh-pooh the Internet’s ability to bring about meaningful social change in a rapid manner:

About 750,000 individuals registered for various political Meetup Groups, with some 450,000 attending at least one of 25,000 meetings held nationwide.

Kerry supporters alone numbered almost 132,000 strong in 653 cities worldwide, and they conducted 8,700 events between them.

President Bush’s supporters numbered fewer than 5% of the Kerry total and Bush events fewer than 10% . . . but these folks held much cheerier post-election bashes.

Myles Weissleder, Meetup’s vice president of communications, sums it up thusly: “Twenty-five thousand meetings where no meetings existed before. Community connections where there were once none. Meetup Groups helped spur millions of dollars raised, tens of thousands of signatures signed, record voter turnouts and best of all – a newly empowered electorate.”

Some will carp that all those newly minted activists holding all those living-room meetings didn’t do Kerry any good where it counted. They are shortsighted.

This is how political campaigns are going to be run from now on.