Whatever happens, the salad days for Yahoo are long gone. 2008 will be the year Yahoo ceased to be one of the big independent Internet heavyweights. They’ll almost certainly become an operating subsidiary of Microsoft, or Google’s whipping boy. And if by some chance the government puts a stop to either deal, they’ll have a short reprieve before facing similar decisions next year or the year after. The world is an unforgiving place. Yahoo is cute, cuddly and likable, but they did not execute the way Google did. And because of that they are quickly turning into collateral damage in an epic war that is really just beginning between Microsoft and Google. – TechCrunch

Barack Obama […] announced a record-setting month in terms of donations – $32 million in January alone [...], $28 million of that was raised online. [...] Barack’s $28 million in online contributions came from more than 250,000 contributors. 90% were under $100. 40% were $25 or less, and 10,000 people gave $5 or $10 to the campaign. – TechCrunch

The fact that such a huge percentage of the funds were raised online is really a testament to the simplicity that is inherent is all online transactions. While Barak Obama may inspire people to contribute more, much of this fundraising success has to be accredited to the internet because it’s simply easier to contribute using a keyboard and credit card than it is with checks and stamps. As the internet becomes more prevalent and as time progresses this number will only become larger and larger. I’d gladly contribute $20 bucks using plastic to a campaign, but there is no way I’d find an address, stamps, and write a check.