Act Blue. Bottom-up Fundraising.

If there's any doubt at all that the Internet is changing politics forever, look no further than ActBlue.

ActBlue makes it possible for anyone to generate their own personal fundraising page for federal candidates of their choice. If you visit mine, you'll find the candidates that I think are worth donating to. ActBlue makes it easy to set up and publicize the donation page.

Update, 9/29/04: Looks like we scooped Wired on this one, but their story is still pretty good. Check it out.

How can a campaign take advantage of this great new service? First, encourage all your supporters to build their own fundraising pages. Yes, yes, of course, that means that they'll include other candidates - but they'll all include your candidate too. They'll get excited about generating dollars, and they'll email their friends about giving.

Think of it as a virtual house party - with a dozen candidates invited to make a pitch (including you). Now multiply that effect by several hundred supporters... You get the idea.

Now, go forth and prosper!