The Web on the Candidates

• Kate Kaye at Clickz writes that, according to a new report from the search firm iCrossing, "Senator John McCain's presidential campaign spent less than half what fellow candidate Senator John Edwards did on issue-based search ads in May, but McCain got far more bang for his buck." Although Edwards spent 64 percent of all issue-based paid search spending in May, McCain -- who accounted for 29 percent of all issue-based paid search spending -- had his name appear far more often in search results for words like "stem-cell research," "electoral reform," and "pro-life."

The Candidates on the Web

• Last week Hillary Clinton said she'd be using HillCam to provide a "behind-the-scenes" look at the Clinton's trip through Iowa this week. Now, after two videos, we've been treated to titillating footage of Bill ordering chicken at a Dairy Queen, the power couple walking down the street talking to people, and Hillary saying hello to curious Iowans. In other words, there's nothing very behind-the-scenes about it, and in fact there's nothing different from what most of the candidates have been doing already. The fact that Hillary -- who's been much less enthusiastic about video until recently -- is now showing a "less guarded" view of herself is supposed to be the big news.
• Meanwhile, the Chris Dodd folks are actually doing innovative work with online video, offering several clips a day of campaign stops, live-streaming video, and more.
• A more interesting online development in the Clinton world is her entry into MyGrito.com (like "my shout-out") with a bilingual social networking page. The page looks almost exactly like a MySpace page except her details are written in English and Spanish, and she has, um, 57 friends. Clinton isn't the first candidate to join the site -- John Edwards followed her lead and joined three days ago.

In Case You Missed It...

Patrick Ruffini writes that there's a need to build hooks between the "energized core on the Internet" and everyone else. A number of tools, which he calls "technology hybrids," are now doing that.

Among the casualties of John McCain's staff-slashing was Christian Ferry, head of McCain online team. What does this mean for the future of his online campaign?