Obama's Facebook Playbook

If the Barack Obama campaign's web presence reminds you of Facebook, there's a reason...

If the Barack Obama campaign's web presence reminds you of Facebook, there's a reason.

The man behind my.barackobama.com is Chris Hughes ’06, one of Facebook's founders.

As a New York Times article on Hughes explains, he was a roommate of Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who left Harvard to work on the site full time. Hughes worked for the company after graduation, but departed in February 2007 to become Obama's "online organizing guru" (his official title, according to the Times).

The campaign has won plaudits for its innovative use of the Internet, including using the Web to track and organize volunteers, build automated polling-place locator software to inform voters where they should cast their ballots, and launch fightthesmears.com, a site dedicated to debunking myths and rumors about Obama.

Read the rest of the Times article here.

Most popular

Raj Chetty: Good kindergarten teachers boost pupils' lifetime earnings

An economist finds that good kindergarten teachers boost pupils' earnings later in life.

At Harvard’s IOP, Two Views of Diversity Get a Hearing

Professor Cornell William Brooks and Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts hold a lively debate on DEI and Project 2025.

Why Taxi Drivers Don’t Die of Alzheimer’s

Explaining taxi and ambulance drivers’ protection against Alzheimer’s disease.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.

Smiling woman stands beside a large skull in a display cabinet.

From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.