Chuck DeFeo wouldn’t go so far as to say that the medium is the message, but he knows that a good message gets around only when it is broadcast (or posted or podcast) over the right medium. This resistance to technological complacency served DeFeo well in his role as the eCampaign Manager for Bush-Cheney 2004 and continues to define his work at Salem Communications, where he is currently working to integrate talk radio content with an interactive web presence. But rather than see himself as an impresario of the Internet, DeFeo simply believes in using all the technology out there to strike up a civic conversation. He will discuss his experiences fostering online community and offline organizing — and the opportunities for more active democratic participation that arise — in the second panel of the day.

When DeFeo began developing the online strategy and managing Internet operations for President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign, he was no online ingénue. He had previously served as a legislative and technology aide to Attorney General John Ashcroft, creating the first online petition for a member of Congress in 1996. In 2002, he began conceptualizing online campaign strategies through his work for the Republican National Committee during the election. But it was during Bush-Cheney 2004 that DeFeo truly harnessed the reach of the web and helped mobilize the grassroots that won President Bush the election.

In a December 2004 interview with OhMyNews.com, DeFeo was already tossing around the now widespread Web 2.0 catchphrase “viral marketing” to explain the success of the eCampaign he managed. With regards to exploiting the web’s social networking potential, he maintains: “Before broadcast television came to dominate politics, grassroots campaigning – neighbors talking to neighbors, door-knocking campaigns, etc. – were the norm. Real people carried the candidate’s message to their friends, family and community … The Internet has brought real grassroots Americans back into the political process where they should be.” Speaking to HumanEvents.com, DeFeo went on to champion the Internet’s ability to increase civic participation in the political process.

Still, DeFeo acknowledges that any successful online venture has to strike a balance between online and offline efforts. Bush’s eCampaign, for example, banked on recruiting volunteers and motivating voters via email. Each active member of the Republican cyber constituency was encouraged to recruit five more volunteers through online initiatives as well as set up ‘virtual precincts’. But DeFeo insisted that the real engagement occur offline, preferably at parties, 31,000 of which were organized by online supporters under the banner “Parties for the President”.

Today, DeFeo has taken the party over to Townhall.com, a recent acquisition by the Christian radio broadcasting network and publisher Salem Communications. He plans on capitalizing on the content broadcast by Salem’s radio network of 34 conservative talk radio stations that feature hosts such as Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, and Hugh Hewitt by uniting popular broadcasters with their millions of listeners through the internet. In an effort to amplify conservative voices in the run up to the 2008 election, DeFeo wants to see online conservatives mingling in the virtual Town Square, responding to the grassroots media of talk radio through blogs and podcasts, shaping the news, and securing another victory.

DeFeo is also a member of MeetUp.com’s Politics and Governance Advisory Council and a contributing editor at personaldemocracy.com.