Competing strategy videos from the Obama and McCain campaigns

If I can highlight just one thing that happened last week in the use of the Internet for influence that you should pay attention to, it would be the strategy videos that the Obama and McCain campaigns released recently.  Take a few minutes and check them both out.

The Obama video went through quite a bit of esoteric polling information, and then laid out the campaign's strategy and the new states they hope to challenge McCain in.  I found this interesting because you usually don't see campaigns talking to their supporters in this way.  It's usually the kind of detail delved into by the chattering class (pundits) and used to fill the endless hours of black screen on talk television.

The McCain actually did this as well, and a few weeks ago released their own video on YouTube.  I actually like the video from McCain's campaign better, in that it takes a surprisingly honest approach to the challenges the campaign has in overtaking Obama's lead and countering the negative factors facing Republicans this cycle.

Having the campaigns be this upfront with their strategy shows a new level of trust and openness that we haven't seen before.  It makes a lot of sense, given that they are asking their million plus volunteers and donors to help them accomplish something monumental.

The interesting question to ponder is this: if your organization is working towards a clearly defined goal with a strategy and an army of supporters, what's to stop you from sharing the detail of it with your supporters online?  I don't mean in a 70 page "strategy plan", but a few paragraphs of easy to understand text or a 2-3 minute video?  Fear of being criticized?

The payback in loyalty and in having your entire supporter base understand your strategy and your goals should be immense if you can manage this hurdle.

Disclosure: My firm, Virilion, is not engaged by any candidate in the election.