True Story: I went back to Ohio this past week. One of my friends, Chris, told me that he had donated to Barack Obama -- the first time he had ever donated to a candidate or cause. I asked him how much and he said $15. I also asked if he planned to give again. His answer: Every month until Barack is President.

Chris is part of the Long Tail I keep talking about.

Via U.S. News & World Report, we find out just how valuable the Long Tail strategy has become:

The Internet is now an integral part of every candidate's fundraising effort, and the numbers are impressive. Obama led the field among Democrats in online fundraising in the first quarter, netting around $7 million over the Internet compared with Clinton's $4.2 million and Edwards's $3.3 million. Republican Mitt Romney reported $7.2 million in online donations in the first quarter. Second-quarter Internet cash totals are not yet in.

The median online donation is usually low—the Obama campaign said 9 in 10 of its online donors gave $100 or less this year—so the big Internet dollars go only to candidates with wide appeal among the Internet-savvy. The Federal Election Commission limits allow personal contributions up to $2,300 per candidate for the primaries, and another $2,300 per candidate for the general election cycle. So campaigns would like those small Internet givers to give again, and again, and will pester them to do so; most candidate websites even offer an option for automated monthly giving to their campaign.

Do you consider yourself a part of the Long Tail of political fundraising?