Controversy has arisen recently regarding an email blast sent from the White House. In an exchange between Robert Gibbs and reporter Major Garrett, it seems as if Gibbs didn't really know how to answer the question. Apparently, people who never subscribed to White House emails actually received emails from 1600 discussing health care. Now, it's appearing that what had happened was that outside groups took email lists and subscribed individuals to the White House email lists without their knowledge.

When running a campaign with an online presence, having a clean email list is vital. Contacting voters by email allows for direct conversation, breaking news alerts, and fundraising drives.

The Washington Post states that President-elect Obama has 10 million email addresses in his list. Out of those 10 million, 3 million donated. That's unbelievable!

1) The Obama campaign followed the cardinal rule of email lists: make sure it's clean. Do not buy lists, do not keep email addresses on file if people have already unsubscribed, DO NOT SPAM!