Only time will tell whether President-elect Barack Obama has ushered in a new generation of Democratic voters.

But after the results of this year's election, the brat pack that helped deliver him a victory seems at least to have permanently changed the way that presidential candidates deliver their message to the public.

Using communication methods such as text-messaging from the campaign to supporters and the posting of rallies on social networking Web sites like Facebook, the Obama campaign spoke directly to the younger crowd.

Republican John McCain incorporated new technology in his efforts as well, but not nearly as extensively.

Hence, 16 percent of under-30 voters who supported Obama reported getting a text, e-mail or phone call from his campaign, said Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning Engagement. Only 4 percent of young McCain voters said the same.

It wasn't just the frequency of the messages that affected the newer voters. It was their quality as well, said Lori Weigel, a pollster with the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies.

Undecided or uninterested TV viewers who lack the patience even to sit through a 30-second sound bite can now Tivo a show and fast-forward through commercials. But by sending longer e-mails or even videos to the cell phones of potential supporters, the Obama campaign let them take in a more substantive message at their leisure, Weigel said.

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams acknowledged that party leaders "clearly have to improve our voter contact through technology."