Ron Paul runs a Web 2.0 campaign

In case you are out of the loop, Ron Paul Republican Congressman from Texas, is running for president and he's doing things a little different than usual. Instead of centralizing his campaign around his website, he's using his site as a portal to third-party sites that contain news and video clips about the candidate, reports the Bivings Report.

There's the usual stuff about his stance on the issues, a bio page, a donation form, a sign-up form and a blog. There's no place for user comments, however; the site users to social sites like Digg, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and Facebook. TO participate online, supporters have to participate in the Internet.

If you want to see Ron Paul in action, go to youTube and watch a video; discuss his stance on issues, go to Digg; find where is he speaking next, log onto to Eventful; want to host your own event, go to a Meetup. The list goes on.

It does simplify the site. After all, why put all the work into designing a site with all this content when it's already available on other sites? It may be a good strategy for a longshot candidate with a tight budget. The tools are freely available and he gets a lot of exposure in other venues. Don't be surprised if other trailing candidates follow suit; though it's not a strategy that front-runners will be interested in. Front-runners will opt for control. Giving control to voters is likely the sole province of the dark horse.