A Name You Should Know

"It doesn't matter if it's a company or a campaign; you build around commonality. If it's real people and real communities, then it's valuable. Otherwise, it’s just playing around online.”

That’s what Chris Hughes has to say to sum up his philosophy. Remember the name ‘Chris Hughes’, I have a feeling this is not the last time you will hear it. At the mere age of just 25, Hughes has already helped create two of the most innovative and successful start-ups in modern history—Facebook and the online-based campaign that got Barak Obama elected.

What made these ventures so innovative and successful? They acknowledged the importance of communities and how people interact with each other.

Hughes became involved with Facebook on the ground level when he befriended Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard. Little did he know that would eventually lead him to work for the next president of the United States.

When Obama's campaign began to look at Facebook and the options it provided, they found Hughes. Way led to way and Hughes joined the Obama team. He was hired on the spot. He's that good.

“Technology has always been used as a net to capture people in a campaign or cause, but not to organize. Chris saw that was possible before anyone else,” says David Plouffe, Obama campaign manager.

That is what I call job security—to create the very thing your employer or client desperately needs but has no idea what is. Pure gold.

Hughes proved himself a very valuable asset Obama’s quest to the White House by employing his philosophy.

My.BarakObama.com, Hughes main tool, served as a social networking source to empower citizens and turn them into activists without the aid of any actual human field staffer. The site quickly became a place to create groups, organize events, raise funds, download tools, and connect with other Obama supporters. Best of all, it was cheap and effective.

At the end of the campaign, volunteers had created more than 2 million profiles through the site, planned more than 200,000 offline events, formed 35,000 groups, posted 400,000 blogs, and raised $30 million on 70,000 personal fund-raising pages AND their guy got elected. I'd call that a success.

Hughes contributed vastly throughout the campaign and should be credited largely with Obama's victory. Barak Obama was a huge commonality for so many people. Obama knew that he would need a nation of organizers to win--that is exactly what Hughes gave him.

So, take notes on this Hughes guy. I think he may end up going somewhere :)