Joe Trippi’s campaign for Howard Dean marked a quantum leap in how the Internet could be used to shake up politics and empower Americans—now Trippi reveals how technology can harness the power of the people in every sector.

When Joe Trippi signed on to manage Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign, the long shot candidate had 432 known supporters and $100,000 in the bank. Within a year, Trippi and his energetic but inexperienced team had transformed the most obscure horse in the field into a frontrunner, creating a groundswell of 640,000 people and raising more money than any Democrat in history-more than $50 million-most through donations of $100 or less.

This is the story of how Trippi’s revolutionary use of the Internet and an impassioned, contagious desire to overthrow politics as usual grew into a national grassroots movement and changed the face of politics forever. But it’s more than that.

It’s also about how to engage Americans in a real dialogue, how business leaders, government leaders and anyone can make use of the most revolutionary idea to come along since man first learned to light a fire. No . . . not the Internet. Or computers. Or telecommunications.

Democracy.

Joe Trippi explains how—right now—Internet democracy is transforming every aspect of American life, by evenly distributing power. He reveals innovations that are on the horizon, which companies are poised to become first-movers in this new era, and which are in danger of being left behind. From his behind-the-scenes look at Dean’s shocking rise and fall to his “seven inviolable, irrefutable, ingenious things your business or institution or candidate can do in the age of the Internet that might keep you from getting your ass kicked but then again might not,” Joe Trippi offers an inspiring glimpse of the world we are becoming.

And he shows how power, in the hands of all of us, changes everything.

As manager of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, Joe Trippi used the Internet to harness the power of grassroots democracy, thereby transforming his long-shot candidate into a front-runner. In this accessibly written text, Trippi recounts his experiences working for Dean and analyzes the factors behind his successes and failures. He also describes seven things businesses, institutions, and candidates must do to remain competitive in the Age of the Internet.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Following his off-the-charts success in using the Internet for fundraising, Howard Dean's campaign manager reveals how the sleeping power of technology can be harnessed and illuminates how every organization and individual in America can benefit from the tidal wave of change on the horizon.