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372 Araba Sey and Manuel Castellsparticipation by supporters. Using the unique capabilities of Internet communication,the campaign shaped an effective strategy, combining motivationalinformation, grassroots mobilization and fund-raising, and freedom to organize.The result was a powerful, low-cost, person-to-person recruitment forcethat brought thousands of zealous people to the Dean campaign.Information provision on election 2004 campaign websites was notunusual, neither was the availability of mobilization tools such as forwardinge-mails. Less common was the Dean campaign’s use of information to motivateand mobilize. The website provided daily updates on new online recruits,fund-raising totals, as well as recruitment and fund-raising challenges. Forexample, in a four-day fund-raising challenge, the campaign successfullyexceeded the amount a rival candidate was raising at a luncheon (NPR, 2003).September 2003 was designated a “September to Remember,” during whichonline supporters were challenged to help the campaign reach a target of450,000 recruits and $40 million in donations, and send a message to Americaabout the efficacy of grassroots politics.Grassroots fund-raising was a unique feature of the Dean campaign, whichfocused on obtaining small amounts from a lot of people. About half of the $25million raised by the end of November 2003 was raised online, with contributionsaveraging less than $100. The campaign’s confidence in this fund-raisingstrategy was tested when, in an unprecedented move, Dean invitedsupporters to vote on the critical question of whether or not to receive publicmatching funds. The strategic question was that, at that time, Bush, who hadopted out of federal funding, had already raised about $85 million, and wasaiming to raise $200 million. Accepting public matching funds, under thefederal regulations, meant that Dean could not spend in excess of the cap limitof $45 million. In spite of the lack of financial support from major donors,Dean decided to take the chance of relying on his grassroots effort to be financiallycompetitive with Bush. However, this was a hard question in terms ofpolitical ideology, since Dean, and most of his followers, were critical ofprivate funding of political campaigns. He argued that principles had to bebent somewhat in order to have a realistic prospect of beating Bush in thegeneral election, something that was difficult anyway but that seemed out ofreach without increasing the amount of total funding above the limit determinedby the rules of public funding.Thus, for both ideological and tactical reasons, Dean decided to put to anopen electronic vote the most important decision of his campaign.Acknowledging that rejecting public funding would be difficult, Dean assuredhis supporters:Declining federal money and funding a campaign with grassroots support has neverbeen done before, and if you choose this option it will be a challenge – but with your