Those who are measuring the use of Web 2.0 technologies by Republicans may need a new yardstick soon, given conservatives rapid adoption of everything from Facebook applications to the virtual reality world Second Life.

Tomorrow, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will host a series of seminars dubbed Solutions Day. While the actual events will take place in Atlanta, Gingrich and his organization have pulled together an impressive network of companion events across the country. The grassroots nature of these events is impressive in and of itself, and the content of the presentations is sure to be thought provoking, but what is most revolutionary about Solutions Day is that it will also take place in Second Life.

Second Life is a virtual world that has been the focus of much debate in corporate marketing. While many people invest countless hours working, living, and playing in Second Life, it has not caught on in the mainstream the way other social media platforms such as Facebook have.

According to the Solutions Day website, "Since Solutions Day is the beginning of the next movement, it made sense that American Solutions rent the virtual West front of the U.S. Capitol to hold a workshop in Second Life on September 27 where 13 years to the day earlier the Contract with America was signed on the steps on the real West end of Capitol."

The Solutions Day virtual workshop will take place at 2:00 pm EDT on September 27. More information can be found on the American Solutions website at www.americansolutions.com.

In addition to Gingrich's foray into the virtual world, a conservative PAC is reaching out to the Facebook world. RedStormPAC has developed a Facebook application that will allow small donors to contribute to conservative candidates utilizing "the 'long tail' of online fundraising."

I've written in the past about why Republicans need Facebook, and actually wrote a "bonus tip" urging conservative web gurus to develop Facebook applications. Facebook is the platform today to connect with and motivate online political activists. In addition to posting links, starting groups, and advertising on Facebook, creating an actual application can bring measurable ROI to a campaign's online efforts.

On their website, RedStormPAC focuses on Virginia races. This would suggest that if one state-based PAC can build a fundraising mechanism through Facebook, web developers in other states or working on a national level will likely follow suit.

Each day, emerging technologies provide new opportunities for conservatives to reach their target audiences and gain a competitive advantage in campaigns at all levels. Whether holding a press conference in front of a virtual U.S. Capitol or asking a network of friends for small donations, the next evolution of campaigning is clearly taking place at the intersection of communications and the Internet.

There has been a lot of discussion lately over who is winning online - conservatives or liberals? You might as well ask which is better, an apple or an orange?

If I may paint with a wide brush for a moment, conservatives and liberals are different sorts of people. We have different world views. We enjoy different activities. We react differently to the same events. And we engage politically in different ways.

There has been much bemoaning the almighty YearlyKos, which has been called a progressive movement (except that apparently the only movement this year was around the breakfast buffet). Approximately 1,500 lost and lonely wandered into the event, but this number wouldn't fill an afternoon panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held each year in Washington. Over 5,000 conservative activists fill CPAC not only to hear great speakers and get huge stacks of books autographed but also to attend workshops -- where they learn new ways to take action.

Herein lies the difference.

Liberals (still using the wide brush here) tend to be inherently good at making noise, sometimes false noise, then repeating it over and over with a straight face as if that noise means something. Conservatives on the other hand generally look through the hype and find ways to get a job done.

Liberals make a lot of noise, they organize cool rallies with witty signs, then they... get nothing done (see Howard Dean's oft-lauded campaign). The Internet, especially via blogs, is perfectly suited for this disposition. Conservatives look to a challenge and go about conquering it. No committees. No rallies. Just results.

In 2004, MoveOn.org created a lot of noise. They lost. In 2004, independent bloggers took action and found out the truth about Dan Rather's falsified documents. They won.

A separate conference like YearlyKos is necessary to create more noise and excite liberals online. Integrating online panels and workshops at a conference like CPAC is necessary to create action and enable conservatives online.

Why has the Drudge Report been such a popular website over the years? It's just the facts, the latest news, and we're back about our day. Blogging for conservatives is integrated, part of our lives and a vehicle to take action.

As a consultant, I often advise clients to take an integrated approach to their communications. While bright shiny objects like Facebook and blogging may look like fun, using them has to be integrated with a strategic approach to truly make an impact. In this context, it’s not hard to see how YearlyKos is a bright shiny object, one that might even intimidate conservatives. CPAC on the other hand is informative, real, and actionable. It is integrated.

As we measure the success of conservatives online, it will look a lot different than how liberals measure success. Theirs will be measured in the number of activists recruited, videos downloaded, or "members" of certain sites. It will, in effect, be a measure of noise. Conservatives must look for ways to enable and measure action. Patrick Ruffini’s recent creation, RightRoots.com, is a prime example of a successful online conservative best practice. The same can be said for Eric Cantor’s Solutions Factory. Either by contributing money or contributing ideas, these sites encourage conservatives to take action.

We will continue to hear how liberals are winning online. Don’t believe it. It's all a bunch of noise. Instead, take action. We eConservatives still have a lot of work to do, but we are doing a better job than you may think.

Fred Thompson announced via e-mail tonight that he will announce his run for President on Thursday, September 6th. While the timing of his e-mail was awful (received at 6:42 pm Central), the content is terrific.

There are a few observations that come to mind though:

1. True to Thompson's grassroots, populist form, the campaign does not include a single donation link in this e-mail. Some might question the wisdom of that, but Fred came into being as a Presidential candidate with the support of grassroots activists. It's a very smart move. The campaign knows their audience here and know that they'll make a ton more money off a house party plan than a standard "donate now" link. (They did not neglect, however, to put a bubble on the side with a big red "Contribute" button but it's placement is appropriate.)

2. The e-mail is addressed to "Dear Friends" not "Dear Allen." That's a crucial mistake, especially when I know they have my name on file - I gave it to them when I signed up for their e-mails! As I've said before, e-mail is about building a relationship. I don't have a warm, friendly relationship with people who call me "Friends." Technically, this is easy. Someone just dropped the ball.

3. Fred Thompson will launch a legitimate campaign for President via webcast. That's just unreal. Sure, Hillary and Edwards and all them did it months ago, but that was months ago when there was no pressure and relatively little media attention. I'm as much of a new media guy as anyone, and I applaud them for going for it, but this is risky at best. Friends of Fred Thompson will not get nearly the attention from the mainstream media as a big event on the square in Lawrenceburg, Tenn. would. On the other hand, this does play to his strength. He is a professional TV actor after all. I'd imagine they will allow networks to play the broadcast-quality video live as well. Either way it is a go-for-broke strategy and I'm interested to see how it plays out.

4. As good as this e-mail is and as much as it will stir up support, conceptually they're light years behind what Mitt Romney is doing - namely, (as Patrick Ruffini pointed out earlier today) hosting a contest giving supporters the tools to create an ad online that will be aired via broadcast. I have no doubt, however, that they have some interesting, strategic, focused plans up their sleeves.

An image of the e-mail can be viewed here.

The text of the e-mail is below:

Dear Friends,

On September 6, 2007, Fred Thompson will be announcing his intention to run for President of the United States with a webcast available to millions at www.imwithfred.com. The launch of the video will be followed by a five-day campaign tour through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. On the evening of the 6th, there will also be a National House Party, during which there will be a conference call with Fred.

We enter this campaign in a strong position. Fred is consistently near the top in the polls, and conservatives across the country have put together the closest thing to a draft in recent presidential campaign history in an effort to bring about this day. The next few weeks will only serve to build upon those efforts, with house parties, visits to the early primary states, and a homecoming in Lawrenceburg, TN on the 15th. To view the dates and locations of Fred's bus tour, please click here, and check back soon for more information on attending one of these events.

By announcing via webcast, Fred is able to take his consistently mainstream conservative message directly to the voters, who are already responding to that message with a strong upwelling of grassroots support. The webcast and the following campaign tour will play to Fred’s strengths, a consistent record of conservatism, his ability to clearly spread his message, and his ability to work with and connect with Americans from all walks of life. Be apart of this historic occasion by signing up to host or attend a house party today.

Sincerely,

Bill LacyManager, Friends of Fred Thompson, Inc.

If you see Facebook as a silver bullet with the key to all future political or policy success, you need new glasses. If you are looking for a competitive advantage, however, and are truly committed to doing whatever it takes to make your message heard, read on.

Behind the Buzz

Facebook is that little college experiment from Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg that now has over 32 million users (August 2007). Originally built for high school and college students, they opened the platform to everyone in September 2006. Over the past year, Facebook has experienced growth of over 2400 percent, taking over the Internet faster than Alexander the Great conquered ancient Persia.

Here are some more statistics to blow your mind:

• More than 100,000 new registrations per day since Jan. 2007
• An average of 3 percent weekly growth since Jan. 2007
• More than half of Facebook users are outside of college
• The fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older
• Sixth-most trafficked site in the United States
• More than 40 billion page views per month in May 2007
• More than half of active users return daily
• People spend an average of 20 minutes on the site daily

In case the natural conclusion wasn't already formed in your mind, we'll say it here: Facebook is huge. And conservatives need to pay attention.

Top 10 Facebook Tips

Primarily, this is not the place to remind people to vote. This is not the place to post press releases. This is not the place to share the same information that these same people can get elsewhere. Conservative groups can not just create a Facebook profile and then walk away.

Those are basic uses of Facebook that we should engage in, but only if we're committed to engaging with Facebook users at a higher level, with activities like:

1. Create a group, then keeping it updated with new content.
2. Message supporters with exclusive information about your activities.
3. Recruit volunteers for campaign events and activities.
4. Recruit online activists to comment on blogs and vote on online polls.
5. Solicit feedback, as scary as this may be. If you have a group, have a discussion board. If you get comments and feedback, write back (an intern can do this so long as your supporters know SOMEONE is listening).
6. Offer an exclusive event, just via Facebook events, for your supporters. This drives traffic and increases the level of activity your supporters are willing to offer.
7. Proactively seek out similar groups and users. Engage with them on discussion boards and through messaging. Resist self-promotion on users' walls. No one likes a sales pitch on their wall.
8. Upload video, links, photos and more.
9. Run banner advertising on the site, targeted at younger voters (even if your target audience isn't younger, many older Facebook users are still young at heart).
10. List your campaign in the Causes application so users can donate directly from Facebook.

And finally (call this a Bonus tip), consider building a Facebook application. It's easier than it sounds, and will allow your supporters to add your content directly to their profile pages. Facebook apps are huge right now (there are over 2,500) because they give users the ability to express their personality and interests in new, unique ways. They also give you the flexibility to add new content and functionality right into your supporters' profiles.

Interested in learning more? There are a lot of web companies out there who can help build your Facebook strategy as well. It's not a silver bullet, but it is a powerful weapon to give you a competitive advantage.

And who doesn't want that?

[Note: Thanks to Jeremiah Owyang of PodTech.net for his Facebook research and writing which have influenced many of these tips.]