Nate Silver: Governor Palin's Internet Search Traffic "Six Times Greater" than the Top Four Other Potential 2012 Candidates Combined

An interesting piece by Nate Silver at the New York Times. Silver compares Governor Palin's web traffic to other potential 2012 candidates and finds that there is no comparison:In last week?s article on Tim Pawlenty, we noted that Mr. Pawlenty?s Google search traffic ? which may be a reasonably good proxy for how much interest the candidate generates among the public at large ? somewhat lags behind that of several other potential Republican contenders, such as that of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.These differences are small, however, as compared with the gap between Mr. Pawlenty and Sarah Palin. And the same goes for every other Republican candidate:[...]Ms. Palin?s search traffic, since the start of 2010, is roughly 16 times that of Mitt Romney, 14 times that of Newt Gingrich, 38 times that of Mike Huckabee, and 87 times that of Mr. Pawlenty. (It is about six times greater than these other four candidates combined.)Ms. Palin, in fact, draws almost as much search traffic worldwide as the man she would face if she wins the Republican nomination: Barack Obama. And her name is searched for about 30 percent more often than the President?s among Google users in the United States.More here. I can't say I agree with everything Silver writes, but it's an interesting piece. This is yet another example of the extent to which Governor Palin is running circles around her potential competitors in the new media. This is exactly what Michael Goldfarb was getting at in the Scott Conroy piece to which Kelsey linked earlier:"Look at what's happened over the past two years, and you tell me that we don't have a more effective strategy than our peers," Palin aide Michael Goldfarb told RealClearPolitics. "Who's been able to get their message out more effectively? Who's had greater influence? And you tell me why we should play by the same rules that the press wants everybody to play by. It doesn't make any sense."Not only is she getting her message out effectively but, more importantly, people are actively seeking it. To be sure, some of this is due to the fact that she's the only potential 2012 candidate who's actually had a message of late, but still, her mastery of the new media is undeniable. The old media can continue to write the same story under a different author every other day, but it really doesn't matter any more. They, along with their preferred beltway candidates, are yesterday's news. Their candidates can't draw flies at a picnic. That they don't understand this and Governor Palin does will only inure to her benefit going forward.(h/t Allahpundit)

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