Just a decade ago, a presidential candidate announced his campaign with smiles and balloons at a rally. Now, they can make their announcement by simply posting a note on Facebook.

During the last two elections, some politicians have begun to campaign using more technological and contemporary means. One of these means is the use of social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. For the 2006 election, Facebook created a network solely for House, Senate, and gubernatorial candidates.

“We wanted to do something to increase the political voice of Facebook users, a group that tends to be on the younger side of the electorate and which is often underrepresented in Washington and state capitals,” said Facebook spokesperson Meredith Chin, in an e-mail interview. “By bringing the politicians to Facebook, people can engage with the candidates on their turf, in ways that are familiar and meaningful to them.”

Some politicians see the value in this tool and seem to be gearing towards great Facebook use in the 2008 Presidential Election. An example is Barack Obama, a Democrat candidate from Illinois, who is leading candidates in Facebook use.

“[Facebook] certainly is one of the successful tools we are using,” said Jen Psaki, Obama’s Deputy Press Secretary. “We’re pushing a different kind of program, giving voters tools to take organizing into their own hands.”

Currently, there are more than 500 Obama groups on Facebook, the majority in support of his campaign. The largest, “Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack),” has 304,786 members barely one month after its inception. Its creator, Farouk Olu Aregbe, a 26-year-old who advises student government at University of Missouri, wanted to see how many college students Obama intrigued.

“I started this group because after hearing him speak in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention I immediately became interested in him as a person and a politician….” Aregbe said. “When he decided on Jan. 16 to formally explore a presidential campaign, I thought ‘what can I do to find out how many people are interested in him and excited and inspired by him?’ It came to me to start this group on Facebook. It’s really amazing how people have joined.”