On the Campaign Trail in Second Life

It's early in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Very early, I know. But as I wrote in this post on virtual vandalism at a virtual campaign headquarters, the campaign is well under way on the web.

I decided to pop into Second Life and see what's happening on the virtual campaign trail. Since I signed up for a free membership, avatar options were limited, so I ended up flying around Second Life as a cat that appeared to be wearing little more than underwear; my 10-year-old daughter was horrified. (I didn't want to take the time to figure out wardrobe options, which are limited for free members.)

Enough about me. I found Second Life headquarters for Democrats Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. There's even an empty Wesley Clark HQ, though the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate has not announced he is running again.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Edwards' Second Life campaign headquarters were vandalized with posters and feces (how nice). The headquarters were set up by volunteers who have no official tie to the Edwards campaign, though the campaign is in touch with the site's stewards and are aware of what they are doing. The headquarters had been cleared of any signs of vandalism, and a volunteer told me that security measures are in place to make sure it doesn't happen again. More visitors come by at night, the volunteer avatar said.

On a weekend evening and a Monday morning, all the headquarters were very quiet. At Barack Obama's HQ, a "security guard" said he had taken up his post there before the vandalism incident at Edwards HQ. When I asked if he was paid to be there by supporters or was there on his own time, he said, "a little of both." The site is not connected to the official Obama campaign, but he said they are "working for legitimacy." He was the only avatar there.

There wasn't a soul around at a Hillary Clinton headquarters. Just lots of photos of the candidate, and a stage with a microphone flanked by tulips, which appeared ready for her avatar's appearance at any moment. We'll see if she arrives.

I'll be checking in on Second Life and elsewhere on the web throughout the campaign. If anyone knows of other campaign efforts on Second Life or throughout Internet worth noting, post below. In the meantime, here are some links to web sites that are taking the early pulse of political campaigning, web-style:

TechPresident - A group blog that looks at how the 2008 presidential campaigns are using the web
PrezVid - Buzzmachine blogger Jeff Jarvis's look at the 2008 presidential election "through the eyes of YouTube"
YouChoose '08 --  Videos on YouTube from the candidates' official campaigns

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