1.The Internet helped Obama win-over more supporters than McCain

2.Obama supporters age 18-30 use the Internet more than McCain supporters of the same age

These confluent finding from Netpop | Vote 2008 come to mind as I scour post-election results for signs of what this election says about technology, culture and America’s future.

Netpop was founded, in part, on the premise that Internet users are an increasingly important force in the world – transcending national borders, socio-economic differences, and the traditional “powers-that-be.” It is a medium by the people, for the people – affording users greater power over the information they consume, the decisions they make, and the spheres they influence.

The “network effect” was surely at work in this campaign, fueling a viral-spiral of upward support for Obama. Many argue – and rightly so – that the Obama campaign did a better job of leveraging the Internet for support, momentum and funds. But credit should also be given to Obama’s net-minded supporters who did a better job of spreading the message to their friends, tribes and family members. A chicken-and-egg situation indeed, but the Internet is not a device that a single person or campaign can control. It is the distinctly the non-controllable nature of the web – and the users that comprise it – that made it such a powerful tool in this election, helping to tip the scales in Obama’s favor.

Next time, the GOP will make enormous efforts to hire an army of techies and digital marketing consultants. They’ll bone up on online fundraising, email evangelism, and site usability. But will their constituents carry the digital torch? Will they forward, blog, wiki, post and mash to the same degree as the Democrats? The lesson of 2008 is that while McCain supporters relied heavily on email for political information, Obama supporters used a broader array of online communication tools – everything from campaign websites to blogs and social networking sites.

Unless Republicans summon their inner “UGV” (user-generated-voter) there may be greater cultural hurdles for the GOP to overcome as they strive to overtake a democratic party armed by a more connected and interactive base. And what does this mean for an electorate already sharply polarized along red and blue lines? Perhaps we are now seeing certain political implications of the digital divide, with Republicans on the losing end.