Shrum believes one of the most effective uses of Web 2.0 applications is the ability to create an online ad campaign and not have to spend millions of dollars running television spots. He notes that Hillary Clinton, for example, posted a spot on the Web the day after a televised presidential debate, showing her and former President Bill Clinton in a diner, à la the final episode of The Sopranos, which Shrum says was well-produced and got her a lot of attention.

Webber questions the authenticity of these campaign-produced pieces, calling them a series of self-serving messages. “I think voters have looked and seen what’s out there and they realize it’s just another bullhorn for [the candidates] to tout their less-than-coherent and less-than-completely truthful message.”

Webber argues that before social networking became a trend, political bloggers were “digging the dirt to get the honest truth out there and what they saw with these candidates.” With the advent of social networking sites, the candidates are able to create pages that often are nothing more than “ideological mouthpieces and masks,” he says.

Shrum says he expects the Web medium to be a self-correcting force, with people creating websites to counter positions (and candidates) they don’t like. “The Web has a way of being self-correcting,’’ he says, and the next development will be “sites that critique the sites.”

In a “what-if” scenario, Web 2.0 would have been particularly effective in an election as close as the Kerry-Bush battle in 2004, Shrum maintains. “Everything would have made a difference—[the ability to] create a virtual community in Ohio, for example,’’ where a small margin carried the swing state for Bush. Shrum predicts that as advances are made in voice recognition technology, in coming elections voters will see more effective real-time blogs and more real-time conversations.

Candidates Knocking on Every Digital Door They Can

But in the here and now, the candidates are racing to reach out and connect with people wherever they can find them online. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has posted more than 400 videos on YouTube since January that have received 2.5 million page views, according to Stephen Smith, director of Online Communications for the Romney campaign, in Boston.

The Romney campaign has built its own social network so when someone signs up on the site, he gets a username and password and can create events, invite friends, solicit small donations among his friends, family and coworkers and customize his own profile, Smith says. The campaign has also built “Mitt TV,” with 10 different channels, each programmed with content such as video essays on immigration, lowering taxes, his opposition to same-sex marriage, and health care, as well as ads.