Politics Online

Brent Fassino
Spcm 420
The reliance on the internet has become increasingly important to politicians in the past few years. I predict that in the next few, we will begin to see a full scale melding of politics and the use of online forums. In the election process, things like twitter, face book, and YouTube are becoming the biggest tools to convey the campaign messages of our future leaders, and for good reason. These forms of communication allow for a quick and effective way to spread messages across a large segment of the population of potential voters. Not only does this technology enable the candidates to reach out to voters, it encourages them to get involved.
Young people are finding it easier to get online and express their opinions about political candidates by starting groups and gaining a following. A popular social networking site known as Facebook, has more than 50 million users worldwide that is growing larger by the hour. In 2007 a university of Missouri student started a group called 1 million strong for Obama on face book that captured the attention of more than 1000 people in mere hours. In addition to voter turnout, social networking web sites also influence other things like fundraising, branding, and volunteering. Supporters can get online and actually be a part of the political movements which has a remarkable effect on political elections. Obama was one of the first candidates to get on board with this movement. He started a MySpace page back in 2007 where he quickly “friended” about 160,000 people. These friends were now able to receive updates about when and where rallies were being held, possible ways to contribute to Obama’s campaign, and things that they could do to spread the word. This is something that other political candidates overlooked and it may have very well cost them the votes of the young voting demographic. Not only did the use of social networking sites help Obama to acquire a large following, but it also helped market him as an average guy. The concept of homophily would describe this as the tendency of people to bond with other people that they perceive to be similar to them. Since Obama was seen as someone who was still in touch with the young people, the younger voters felt that they finally had a voice in politics and that encouraged them to take control and become more involved with the elections.
Online video web sites such as YouTube are another great way for politicians to spread their message. These web sites allow videos to be uploaded from anywhere around the world and instantly accessed by millions of people. Anyone can take a video of a speech on their cell phone and send it half way across the world in a matter of minutes. The implications of this technology could be either positive or negative considering the context. Imagine if a candidate slips up during an interview or a speech and says something offensive. Before that candidate has time to retract their statement their words have already been heard by thousands of people. In 2008 senator Ann Coulter experienced this first hand. “First, conservative commentator Ann Coulter called John Edwards a “faggot” in her CPAC speech. Second, after the campaign of Mitt Romney, who had spoken just before Coulter, labeled her remark offensive, video leaked showing Romney and Coulter laughing together backstage (CNN).” However, online video can also serve as an effective communication tool for politics. Hillary Clinton strayed away from the traditional approach of announcing her candidacy. Instead of holding a press conference or appearing on a television program, Hillary posted her candidacy on her website and shortly after posted a video on YouTube. Obama followed the same route.
YouTube also serves as a platform that allows voters to become more involved in the political process. People can edit video clips of candidates to convey their own messages about their character like the infamous apple parody ad about Hillary Clinton or the Obama rap video. This new technology puts a whole new spin on the attack ad. It is controlled by the voters and not the actual campaign. It also allows normal people to engage in political discourse one on one with the candidates themselves. In the 2008 election people were able to post questions online via YouTube that were discussed by the democratic candidates in a public debate forum. This alone broke new ground for the progression of political communication because anyone with access to a computer could now become part of the debate.
Twitter is another form of online communication that allows people to create networks of followers that can receive updates about anything right to their cell phones. More politicians are starting to get on board with twitter and other micro blogging mediums after the success that Obama showed with it. Twitter not only allows politicians to supply their followers with vital information about current situations it also allows for real time public participation. People attending a political speech can send real time updates to their followers about what is being said, what they think about it and how people are reacting to it. This is extremely useful information for any politician to have in their possession. With this information they are able to tailor their speeches to the needs of the audience. Twitter can also be used as a tracking device to keep people informed about the whereabouts of politicians and if they are using their time wisely and if anything you say or do can and will be used against you, you are probably going to want to project an image of competence at all times.
In my opinion technology is in the early stages of impacting the way that politics are conducted. It has yet to be fully embraced by the older generations who account for a majority of the active voters. However, the young voters will age and they will become the dominant voter demographic. It is important that future candidates embrace new communication technology because, whether they like it or not, it is going to affect them in some way. The access of power is starting to shift from the campaigns to the hands of the voters. The YouTube video with a catchy theme that cost 100 dollars to make could have more impact on a candidate’s election than the million dollar campaign commercial. The MySpace or face book page could attract more people than the hundreds of thousands of kiosks set up around the United States. Twitter may very well become the best way to keep voters updated on events as they are happening. As the transmission of information becomes easier to use, people will find that it is more beneficial to take part in politics and they will realize that their voice can go a long way. People will become more involved in the decision making process and will ultimately cut out the middle man between voters and politics. As more people see that their opinion does matter, more people will be optimistic about becoming part of the political discourse which would benefit America greatly.


Bibliography
“Coulter under fire for anti-gay slur” CNN.com 6:31 a.m. EST, March 4, 2007. Web. 09 Nov. 2009