A big question one year ago: can anyone translate social networking prowess into success on election day?

The answer, judging by the Obama campaign, seems to be "yes."

The power of the campaign's social site, MyBarackObama.com, leads web-politicking trailblazer Joe Trippi to say, "It was the network, stupid."

More from the article:

MyBO also gave the Obama team the instant capacity to wage fully networked campaign warfare...

The Obama campaign could get marching orders to the Texans registered with MyBO with minimal effort. The MyBO databases could slice and dice lists of volunteers by geographic micro­region and pair people with appropriate tasks, including prepping nearby voters on caucus procedure. "You could go online and download the names, addresses, and phone numbers of 100 people in your neighborhood to get out and vote--or the 40 people on your block who were undecided," Trippi says. "'Here is the leaflet: print it out and get it to them.' It was you, at your computer, in your house, printing and downloading. They did it all very well."

Previously: Obama goes mobile.

WSJ: "The Obama campaign's use of the site provides a model for businesses that are struggling with their own social-networking efforts."