Barackbook.com

Barackbook.com is a parody of the popular social networking site facebook.com and an all-out attack against Barack Obama by the Republican Party. The website, which was launched on July 29, 2008 highlights Barack’s past and present associations with people and groups of questionable integrity. For instance, the site points out that Detroit mayor and superdelegate Kwame Kilpatrick endorsed the presidential hopeful; and is now facing perjury and other felony charges as a result of a scandal involving an affair with his former chief of staff. The site also includes articles, video clips and commercials that are part of John McCain’s advertising campaign to reinforce the idea that Obama is unequipped to lead the nation. The obvious goal of barackbook.com is to tarnish the reputation and credibility of Barack Obama, thereby strengthening John McCain’s bid for the presidency.

Barackbook is a very clean website, with Barack’s friend feed list being the most prominent feature on the homepage. The name’s of Obama’s friends are hyperlinked, taking visitors to a page where under a “Who am I” heading, readers can review headlines about the organizations’ or person’s questionable activities. Other sections of this page include “Facts about Me and Barack,” “My Donations and Bundling for Barack,” and “What Barack Says About Me.” There are also hyperlinks to full text articles and op-eds that provide more information on whatever the negative deed is that Obama’s “acquaintance” is responsible for.

Barackbook.com provides information - albeit inconsequential, for anyone looking for dirt on Barack Obama. It appears that the target audience for the website is anyone who is familiar with facebook.com and is interested in learning about Barack’s connections with people who lack some degree of integrity. The site would not appeal to informed voters who know and understand the real issues of this campaign. The only value Barackbook.com would have for its Republican visitors is a good chuckle.

The website offers users the option to add barackbook as an application on their real facebook profiles. Barackbook provides links that allow visitors to donate to the Republican National Committee, create an online account with the organization, sign up for mobile updates and share the webpage with others. The site does not provide users with an opportunity to leave comments or join groups. According to politico.com, barackbook once had a discussion feature, but was inundated with comments from Obama supporters. The site helps to strengthen the Republican Party’s online presence. The party has been viewed as behind the technology curve in comparison to Barack Obama and his aggressive and successful online initiatives. The Republican Party clearly put a lot of thought into barackbook and keeps the website current, even offering visitors to sign up to have updates sent to their mobile phones.

Although the site is not listed in Google’s top 30 with Barack Obama or Republican Party keyword searches, barackbook has received press from traditional media. The Republican Party is receiving mixed, but mostly positive reviews for this online advocacy effort. The group is receiving nods for its creativity in the development of barackbook, although some Republican bloggers have commented that they find the site insulting to young Republicans due to its attempt to use the facebook simulated platform to relate to voters. The Huffington Post calls the site just plain old “lame.”

A google search did not yield any evidence that Barack Obama’s camp has responded to barackbook.com. The senator’s official website www.barackobama.com has a page dedicated to debunking untruths and misconstrued statements, however there is no mention about any of the content found on barackbook.com. I am not a political strategist, but it just seems like plain old common sense to ignore barackbook.

Barackbook is a weak attempt to beat Obama at his own game. As one blogger accurately puts it, if the election was to be held today on facebook, Obama would win by a landslide. Mc Cain’s 200,000 friends would be no match for Obama’s 1.3 million friends on the social networking site. Chris Hughes, co-founder of facebook who is also the brains behind my.barackobama.com is probably flattered by the Republican Party’s version of his highly successful creation.