[okie01]

"Campaigns would be well-advised to designate a team just to keep track of and respond to web-generated stories and opinion, starting with the Big Four."

My sense is that Free Republic is already closely monitored -- by both sides. And that one side is still trying to discover a means for launching a successful "disruption attack".

It will have to employ stealth technology, because ordinary disrupters are so easily identified and shot out of the sky by the ZOT! guns...

[fightinJAG]

I agree that FR is monitored. If I were a political monitor, there would be three things I'd watch for:

1) Trends in posting (not only what stories and types of stories are posted, but how often and how long they continue to spark discussion);

2) Content and emotional intensity of the discussion of stories (obviously);

3) Indications of how much people remember of same/similiar events/reports (how long is the public's memory on the subject) and what information they are free-associating with the story.

Interesting work if you can find it. I would think a good web forum/blog analyst would be worth his or her weight in gold.