Use It Wisely

Edward Cone’s article "Requiem for a Dream" covers two of the main points about campaigns that we have been discussing on our blogs, in class, and in our readings: avoiding the "overuse" of the Internet and online/offline synergy.

By "overuse," I mean avoiding the "spam problem," as Trippi called it. As I have stated before, it is important in developing an online plan that we don’t target too much, sending excessive amounts of e-mails and newsletters to our target.

On the topic of online and offline synergy, the Internet is a great tool, but in using it, we cannot forget about traditional media. We must, instead, combine the two to create a more effective campaign.

Two sentences by Cone serve to sum up the idea: "Indeed, if the Dean campaign is an object lesson at all, it's that deploying an information system in and of itself solves nothing. It's how the system's used that matters." This article serves as a concise but great example that the Internet is an important tool in campaigns, but it can also cause problems if not used effectively.