New-age tools have also been the backbone to his immensely successful grassroots fundraising drive. Altering a page from Karl Rove’s playbook, Obama’s team has assembled two disparate masses: the party faithful and the black vote. One hundred dollars at a time, his new communications tactics appear to be weaving a less corporate, more cohesive political web.

While exciting, this revolution also poses some serious questions for PR practitioners. Is this new way actually going to prove successful at the ballot boxes? How much of the youth vote will actually live up to its promise and turn out. Political scientists will be analyzing this for decades to come. Is the voting public, particularly the older demographic, ready for the shift? Is it too soon for a Web 2.0 election platform? November’s election will provide many of these answers, but the following analogy may prove insightful for now.

Imagine a luxury car manufacturer believing that his company must be relevant and launching a sleek new Web 2.0 campaign, replete with various social networking applications. As always, it is necessary to identify the underlying audience for the company: buyers and potential buyers. In reality, this group is far removed from early-adopting, bandwagon-riding young people who would be most likely to experience the campaign. It is important to keep this contrast in mind when looking at the utility of Obama’s strategies…

This parallel proves that no matter one’s desire to change, the fundamental marketing realities still remain integral to success. Obama thus needs his Democratic base, lobby support, older swing voters, veterans, single mothers and older women, precisely and other groups (along with Latinos) on the Web 2.0 periphery. Premising a campaign on the ‘new way’ may very well disenfranchise the population needed for its success.

This is a communications paradox indeed.

Politics, like some areas of business, is still a staunchly entrenched environment. Web 2.0 should therefore augment a solid campaign, bringing into the fold otherwise inaccessible groups. Losing sight of who the actual voters are might see a great deal of creativity go to naught.

Given John McCain’s technological ineptitude, we can only hope not.

Amidst the pomp and pageantry of Beijing 2008’s opening week, one may be excused for an inherent reluctance to prematurely rain on the Chinese parade. This is, of course, a historic event years in the making, with lofty expectations on many fronts – human rights, the environment and press freedoms, to name but a few. The ensuing pressure on China to justify holding the Olympic Games has been enormous.

Ironically, in trying to ‘get it right,’ on the PR front the Chinese international “coming out party” instead has been a ruinous affront. They have pushed too hard, creating a glaring irony plainly visible on the Games’ austere veneer. In painting an idyllic picture to the media and outside world, the Chinese have forgotten their most crucial audience: everyday citizens.

By catering their message to the newsroom instead of the living room, they forgot an invaluable contemporary communications lesson:

No matter the money invested, the number of mouths shut or your message’s totality, one-way or Web 1.0 communications will simply not work in today’s Web 2.0 environment.

Take the opening ceremonies, for example: what was meant to appear as a simultaneous sequence of giant firework ‘footprints’ ended up being an elaborate forgery.  Then it was revealed that the nine year-old poster child who sang Ode to the Motherland was lip-syncing. The real singer, who was 7, unfortunately had crooked teeth and was deemed too chubby for TV. Both cases were uncovered promptly on Chinese blogs, with ensuing international media coverage.

Should the Chinese have done anything differently? It’s easy to say that avoiding dishonesty would have been a smart idea but that’s applying our open society model to a semi-closed one. Evidently, even with the eyes of the world watching, the People’s Republic hadn’t listened to sophisticated advisors who clearly would have predicted that the lip-syncing, for example, would be found out. Acknowledging and embracing the harsh realities of today’s China could have been endearing, somewhat of a rallying cry for Western audiences. Instead, they tried to emulate (or trump) the West, and it’s ultimately proven embarrassing. From a communications perspective, it would have been intelligent to portray themselves as what they truly are: a rapidly developing state that is making vast economic and political strides, yet still has far to go.

This illustrates the importance of two-way dialogue in today’s communications environment. The blogosphere allows for anyone to be a credible journalist. Messages will inevitably get out, stories will leak and speculation often reigns. Regardless of the resources available, people now want to be engaged, to share in the discussion, to shape thoughts and, in many instances, to foment controversy.

This principle also holds tremendous weight here at home. As the Chinese are quickly learning, ignoring the relevance of blogs, social networks and everyday citizens is not only ignorant, it’s increasingly costly. Keep on watching – there are undoubtedly more lessons to follow.