Is 2008 the MySpace/Facebook election? You might think so from the political attention and resources invested in online social networks in the past year or so. But for all the prominence of online social networks, they haven't been as critical to this year's primaries as some had predicted, and recent survey results from the E-Voter Institute provide a possible explanation.

Eight million list members. One million MyBarackObama members. Nearly two million Facebook/MySpace "friends." A couple of million online donors. By the time November comes around, those numbers will have grown — and Barack Obama is likely to be on his way to the White House. Assuming he wins, what will he do with his online following? Will Congress be next in his sights?

Here's a clever idea -- install a web browser toolbar sponsored by the Republican National Committee and you can raise money for the RNC "through normal online activities such as searching and shopping."

On the first day of Netroots Nation, Chris Hughes and friend-of-e.politics (and new Obama campaign employee) Judith Freeman led an overview of how the nominee-to-be's campaign has used social networking tools of all kinds to bring in new supporters, organize locally and (most importantly) put volunteers to work on their own. Let's break down the tools and how the campaign uses each.

The primaries are dead; long live the primaries! Before we plunge into the inevitable frenzy of the Fall campaign season, let's take a few minutes to run through some conclusions we can draw about the world of online politics from the candidates' experiences in the race so far.

The new version of "Online Politics 101: The Tools and Tactics of Online Advocacy" is now ready for reading and/or download, with new chapters on social networks, advertising, political databases and choosing the right mix of tools, plus expanded articles on fundraising, blogs and more. Includes updates based on the 2008 primary campaign experience. The best part — if you disagree with anything, the web version of each chapter takes comments. Read now, or God kills a kitten...

• Download Online Politics 101

At the exact instant I opened this email from him, Jim Webb came on the radio, leaving only one obvious question: is a two-fer good enough for "BINGO" in the veepstakes stature game?

Let's help get a better sense of what tools political professionals are using, both for advocacy and to help elect candidates: take the 2008 E-Voter Institute Survey of Political and Advocacy Communications Leaders today.

An interesting new GOP anti-Obama site, CanWeAsk.com mixes social media techniques and video to try to undermine Obama's credibility. But does the featured video actually backfire?

I hate to risk alienating my new BFF Mark Zuckerberg, but has Facebook's moment in the sun as a hot political tool passed? And if so, what does that tell us about the future of social networking sites for online political organizing, and even about the future of Facebook itself?