How To Split An Atom

John Edward recently made an unlikely appearance in Columbus, Kentucky. For those who don’t know, Columbus is a tiny town of about 229 in western Kentucky, where most of the Internet users are still chugging along with dial-up and the largest “social network” is the State Park that makes up the brunt of the town’s fame. Not exactly a prime choice for a candidate on the war-path.

Yet still, Mr. Edward’s appearance managed to draw a crowd in excess of 1,500 people. How did it happen? A little site known as Eventful.

Power To The People

Eventful is a service designed to help people find interesting things to do in their area. Recently, they added a feature that has allowed users to “demand” the appearance of their favorite celebrity. While it was initially embraced by Comedians and Musicians who were scouting for new venues, some savvy candidates including Edwards, Obama and Ron Paul are now using it to find hives of grass roots support.

It’s good business for Edwards. What better way to drum up support than go to where the people want to see you?

It’s also a good sign that this “Internet thing” is working. While I have no doubt that this little spectacle will have exactly zero effect on the outcome of the election, I don’t think that matters. Much more importantly, events like this are case studies in how the web can help to democratize politics.

The citizens of Columbus are mostly rural and mostly voiceless in the political arena, but using the web their voices were heard and a small change was made. For those who speak about the “social web” changing the way we communicate, isn’t this what it has always been about?

[Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed before leaving]