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Google, WalMart, and MyBarackObama.com: The Power of the Real Time Enterprise - O'Reilly Radar. This is an extremely insightful post on Tim's part. The tech echo chamber tends to focus on "fads" that are important, but ultimately unsustainable. The real action in the Obama campaign was operational. Websites and cell phones completely changed the nature of the ground game and ultimately may have made the critical difference. Most of the coverage has been on the Internet as a fund raising tool and on YouTube as a relevant (one of many) vehicle for getting the message out.

Currently the same applies to most "business consultant speak" regarding the use of Web 2.0  tools for "messaging" (i.e. promoting the brand) as it pertains to commercial enterprises. These tools are important for that purpose, but the real difference will be when better communications leads to more effective operations, and it will when the tools are used to their mostly (as yet) undiscovered potential. This will not be as exciting as the next Twitter for the tech community to pontificate on. Therefore, do not expect much coverage on your favorite tech sites. It ain't going to happen. Probably a better place to look will be the Harvard Business Review.

One last point to be made regarding the Obama ground operations team(s), it was run mostly by "twenty somethings." This was obvoiusly no coincidence. The kids get this stuff because to them it's like breathing. Businesses need to wakeup to this reality. The generational divide with respect to "new media" communications technologies is real and will have an important impact on the bottom line.

Hire the kids and provide them some parental guidance.

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