Post-Obama, Can the Internet Change the Outcome of Your Business?

Other than to pile on with our admiration (and to below point you to a few blog posts), we can’t add much to the recent extensive commentary about how the Barack Obama presidential campaign has fully leveraged the Internet. But while listening to yet another podcast on the subject, I was struck by a quote attributed to Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post that Obama would not be president if not for the Internet.

Assuming that you accept the premise that savvy use of the Internet changed the outcome of the U.S. general election, how would you gauge the impact that the Internet's had on your business? Have financial services institutions been altered by their presence on the Web? The Web has empowered many in the financial services realm. Yahoo Finance became a publisher and many offline publishers now produce online. And yes, we now have online access for our bank and brokerage accounts. Wesabe.com, Mint.com and Geezeo.com all are examples of relatively new community sites for people who are determined to manage their money better.

But Internet-driven disruption and transformation? We think that’s yet to come for financial services. (And would love to hear your thoughts.)

For inspiration, check out the following posts on the Obama campaign’s use of digital strategies:> 

• The Internet As A Force In Politics: “Obama Would Not Have Won Without The Internet”
• Lessons for User Experience Consultants from Barack Obama
• Election 2008: What You Should Have Learned