What really determines the success of a campaign, the number of Twitter followers or the number of doors knocked on?

As the social media world booms and technology expands beyond belief, many campaigns are stuck with this question. When deciding how campaign money will be spent a decision must be made about how much to put into technology and how much to put into traditional grassroots organizing.

This November will bring a great example of new school vs. old school in the e-campaign world. In the 2010 California gubernatorial election we will see what campaign money can really buy when put towards social media and technology with the technology-driven campaign of Republican candidate Meg Whitman.

According to an article from MercuryNews.com Whitman spent seven times more than her Democratic rival, Jerry Brown, on website development and information technology for her campaign. Those on the left side of this race to determine the next California governor say that all the money Whitman is putting into her e-campaign is to make up for a lack of voters. But the tactics Whitman is using are really on the forefront of technology backed campaign strategy.

The winning candidate of this election could determine the future of running an e-campaign. Is the key to a successful campaign all about the technology or about the human element, or can there be a happy medium? November will decide.