For campaign ads, blogs alone won't cut it

Mayoral candidate Bob Brady's blog may be feeling a little lonely.

It only contains one post, and there's no way for readers to add their comments, a crucial feature in a successful blog, says Toby Bloomberg, a blogger and advertising consultant on new media.

But in Philadelphia, that may not be so important.

While politicians like Howard Dean have shown the power of Internet campaigns in influencing politics, for Philadelphia's mayoral candidates, it seems to be better to stick to the old school - traditional advertising like commercials on local television and radio stations.

Political experts say the difference between tech-reliant campaigns like Dean's and those of the five Democratic mayoral candidates lies in the size of their potential pool of voters.

Dan Fee, a former adviser to Gov. Ed Rendell, said that, while national politics has trended more toward using the Internet, local campaigning simply lends itself to traditional efforts like television advertising and appearances at community events.

Fee pointed out that blogs might make sense on campaigns with "a larger geographic spread," like a presidential campaign, in which it's difficult to pay for advertising in so many expensive markets across the country.

But because Philadelphia is only one media market, he said, it's easier for candidates to get their messages directly to potential voters through television and radio ads.

The Internet only makes a major impact when it comes to behind-the-scenes work, Fee said. He cited e-mail as the perfect example, as it provides a fast and free way to send messages to campaign supporters and reporters.

Democratic political consultant Larry Ceisler added that an individual who reads a candidate's blog is someone who already has an interest in the campaign.

"I think the blogs are way overplayed" when it comes to Pennsylvania politics, he said, noting that "you're a lot less effective" using blogs in reaching out to people who aren't already in tune with a given campaign as opposed to mass-marketing strategies.

And the lack of attention shows.

The blog of Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) has only three posts on it, and the last one was made Feb. 14.

Neither the Fattah nor Brady campaigns would return calls for comment.

While these represent extreme cases, even candidates who cater more toward a tech-savvy demographic might not be devoting as much time to their online presences as they could.

Former Councilman Michael Nutter's blog has been without a new post for more than 10 days, and, of the 120 friends he claims on MySpace, many are accounts from nonprofit organizations like the Center for Progressive Leadership.

And even Tom Knox, the one candidate with a significant following on MySpace (he has over 2,000 friends), doesn't have many comments on his blog, with each post getting only one or two responses.

State Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Phila.), who also heavily utilizes his blog, has a similar lack of responses. His campaign can, however, boast of several hundred participants in online video chats he's held to discuss various issues.

Evans spokesman Tim Spreitzer said that, while politicians obviously rely on more traditional forms of advertising, Internet campaigning is just another weapon in any candidate's arsenal.

"What we're trying to do is provide a menu and a variety of options," he said.

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