Broad Side of the Barn

3 Simple Steps that anyone can do to help increase McCain internet exposure

YouTube - Creating an account allows you to rate and comment on videos. Viewing, rating and commenting on videos has the potential of increasing traffic to those videos. Account holders can also post videos, they can be simple comments or questions recorder via webcam, or any other sort of short video. These videos can garner traffic via search, creator channel (page), or YouTube promotional tactics. They are fed through syndicated feeds when posted and have the potential to be seen by interested parties across the internet. Videos also have the potential of being listed in Google search.

McCain friendly creator channels -

JohnMcCaindotcom - Official John McCain YouTube Channel

ICYMIMcCain08 - McCain News clips

morrison321abc - Labeled McCain Audio clips

McCain NH - John McCain NH based videos

Viral Marketing - In its basic form it's sharing info usually via email. Create an email signature file that shows support i.e. 'McCain '08' that automatically gets attached to emails. Email pages of interest to friends who would be interested, also encourage them to forward the material on. Viral marketing can take on a variety of forms, just don't spam people.

Blogs - Don't need to be technically savy to create a blog, just need to have something to say. Blogger.com is a simple Google owned site that allows anyone to create a blog. Some blog posts can be picked up by syndicated feeds, but I don't have all the details on the how's and why's and which ones. Interconnecting blogs and websites can generate traffic and relevance in the search engines. Blog rolls can help in this area. Thanks to Brad at Azamatterofact.com he has created a blog roll for McCain friendly web sites - McCain Blog Roll Details . I recommend visiting his site for info and ideas on blogs, and for interesting political content.

Two sites that appear to b helpful in promoting blogs are www.technorati.com/ and www.blogflux.com/. Still learning the ins and outs, buy Technorati is a very popular site and it looks like a blog can get a good ranking with some help from friends and other blog owners. Blog Flux has some interesting tools such as polls, but what looks most promising is that it provides a "pinger" which sends your blog out to a number of syndicaters/feeders.

Create A Blog 'How To' - Blogs are specifically designed so that users can publish online with out any technical expertise. In reality one doesn't even need to be a writer to manage a blog as posts from other bloggers can be used. As long as you link to the original article this is welcome practice as it helps promote the writers article and blog. If you are new to blogs I recommend using Blogger.com to set up your blog. It's free and it's easy, and there's no commitment which makes it worth while to least give blogging a try. All you need is an email address...

1. Go to Blogger.com and create an account. This simply consists of entering an email address and picking a password. You'll be sent a confirmation email, then you're set to go.

2. Pick a name and address for your blog. Blogger.com will let you know what names/addresses are available.

3. Choose a template. You'll be given several options for what your blog can look like. This can be modified or changed at any time.

4. Post a message. A simple welcome message will work.

That's it you have a functional blog. You can go under the layout tab and change and change page elements, or colors. You can provide more details about yourself under 'edit profile'. While there are a number of ways one can customize their blog that's completely optional. Simple blogs can be just as engaging and effective as highly customized blogs.

*Two suggestions: Join the McCain Blog Roll . This is done by selecting 'Add a Page Element' under the template/layout tab, choosing the HTML/JavaScript option, and copying and pasting a piece of code into the given box. Second go to technorati.com sign up for an account then 'Claim Your Blog'. This will help people find your blog, and will help the other blogs that you choose to link to.

**If looking for material to publish you may also want to look at McCain States for articles to use in your blog, or use the sites listed in the McCain Blog Roll to find articles.

Participating on blogs - Here's a beginning list ranked by the amount of traffic received (number to the right indicates Alexa traffic ranking.) Please let me know if there are other well trafficed blogs you think should be listed.

Politico 12580

Michelle Malkin 23610

Little Green Footballs 24968

Powerline Blog 47968

Red State 64153

Wiz Bang Blog 66289

The Carpet Bagger Report 107359

Right Wing News 124258

Classical Values 229036 (Not specifically focused on the election)

race42008.com 489399

Eye on '08 583131

Ankle Biting Pundits 1484824

Alexa - Gives some interesting traffic statistics on web sites. Traffic is estimated using information provided by those who use their toolbar. Toolbar is a handy tool for search and for finding out info on websites, and can help increase exposure to your favorite sites. The following charts shows the previous three months of traffic to major Republican candidate websites. Click report for expanded view.

Technorati Blog Tracking

Posts that contain Mccain per day for the last 30 days.

Get your own chart!

Search Engines - While there are a number of factors that determine a sites placement in the search engines two of the most basic elements are links and keyword targetting. Sites are given more weight and are ranked higher when they have other relevant sites linking to them. Also, targetting specific relevant keywords in the content of a webpage is another key factor. Basically, adding a link to your own site or blog, or encouraging others to link to the McCain website can help lift their relevance in the search engines, and search engines drive huge amounts of traffic to sites.

Effective Web User Strategy - Slow, steady, consistent participation is most effective. Spikes in internet metrics will typically be discounted, but a steady stream or increase in McCain friendly internet activity will have an impact if enough people participate, though it may not always feel that way. It's not dissimilar to getting out the vote. One vote itself may not have a dramatic impact, but whole series of individual votes decides an election. Happy surfing.

*This is not intended as an all-encompassing guide. The internet is huge and my knowlege covers a sliver of the internet pie. Comments and recommendations are welcomed. Information about the effectiveness of social networking sites would be greatly appreciated.

Email: kmorrison55 at hotmail.com
Please be patient it may take a week or more for an email reply.