I agree that since anyone can “friend or follow” it does take away from it's relevance. However, since these numbers are quantifiable and things like engagement aren't as much, these numbers are important.

My point is that it helps paint a picture. We all know that if I candidate can effectively organize online it can be a game changer (Dean, Obama) So the fact that a candidate like Khazei, who has less name recognition than any other candidate shows that he is doing things right online. In my opinion.

I didn't include any non-democrats to keep things short and focused.

(Disclaimer: I am know currently a consultant for the Alan Khazei campaign. At the time of this post I was not.)

The key is engagement. The key is marketability. The key is integration between both online tools and offline tools.

…and to be fair to everyone, where are the non-Democrat contenders in this list?

I agree that since anyone can “friend or follow” it does take away from it's relevance. However, since these numbers are quantifiable and things like engagement aren't as much, these numbers are important.

My point is that it helps paint a picture. We all know that if I candidate can effectively organize online it can be a game changer (Dean, Obama) So the fact that a candidate like Khazei, who has less name recognition than any other candidate shows that he is doing things right online. In my opinion.

I didn't include any non-democrats to keep things short and focused.

(Disclaimer: I am know currently a consultant for the Alan Khazei campaign. At the time of this post I was not.)

The key is engagement. The key is marketability. The key is integration between both online tools and offline tools.

…and to be fair to everyone, where are the non-Democrat contenders in this list?