I’ve blogged about technology marketers and their challenges before, specifically in the context of social networks, where top-down messages are not the most effective way to reach someone. Marketers mus also relinquish a lot of control over their messaging, which I’m sure is rather terrifying.

Now consider your go-to-market strategy if you are the driving force behind a political campaign. Doubly difficult, no? But when it comes to the 2008 Democratic Party campaign, one candidate has really shone in harnessing the power of social networks: Barack Obama.

About a year ago, the Obama party hired on 24 year old Chris Hughes - one of Mark Zuckerburg’s old college roommates. Hughes was instrumental in the creation of Facebook, and he has been a huge asset to Obama’s online presence. Although he never directly engineered or coded an application, Hughes provided insight into how his peers communicate, which in turn produced cheap, viral and effective results for Barack.

The Personal Democracy Forum is a site that measures how technology is changing politics. The PdF have drawn parallels between the Obama campaign and a well-oiled media machine. They have evolved their candidate from not just a man, but into an actual brand by leveraging the power of social networks.

Bravo.