Week 10 - Politics and the Internet

The internet has a strong power in influencing and affecting politics, especially so regarding political campaigns. Leaders make use of social media to spread their message, to garner views and opinions from the public. The use of videos may help change people's perception on a certain politician. As videos go viral and spread quickly, information reaches to its target audience more effectively.

This comic photo actually cracked me up. It shows how politicians make use of the internet to actually connect with the public! For those who are interested in handcrafted jewelry, they make actually check out this website. Hence he gains more exposure and people may actually vote for him.

Lets take for example Barack Obama. How do gain popularity within such as short time, and gain favor from millions? The internet has equipped him well.

“Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee,” said Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/

Obama and Social Media

The first rule of social media marketing is to put yourself and/or your product out there. A few ways to do that include becoming an active blogger, establishing a presence on the major social networks, and embracing new forms of communication.

Obama has done just that. From social networking to his blog to his Fight the Smears campaign, Obama has made his Web 2.0 presence known. He has over 1.5 million friends on MySpace andFacebook, and he currently has over 45,000 followers on Twitter. This personal activity in social networks allows him to quickly get the word out across multiple platforms.

Obama and YouTube

The days of writing a speech to capture a ten second sound bite on the evening news are over. The popularity of YouTube gives the public access to the entire speech, not just the clip chosen by the news, which means the entire speech must resonate with the audience.

Barack Obama has done a great job of making sure his speeches sound as good on YouTube in their entirety as they do on the evening news with just a clip. He's also gambled on YouTube's audience by creating a strong presence on the website. Historically, young voters have been high on enthusiasm but low on voter turnout. But Obama has been able to utilize social media to buck that trend.

Obama and Social Networking

If we were to look for the ace up Obama's sleeve, we would find Chris Hughes. As one of the founders of Facebook, Chris Hughes knows a thing or two about social networking. Obama's wooing of the social networking whiz may not have made headlines at the time, but it's been a major factor in Obama's success.

Barack Obama isn't the first to utilize social networking in a bid for the presidency -- Howard Dean used Meetup.com to become a serious contender for his party's nomination in 2004 -- but he may have perfected it. The rule of thumb for any great application is to pack a powerful punch while being as simple to use as possible. And that's what My.BarackObama.Com delivers.

A full-fledged social network, My.BarackObama allows users to create their own profile complete with a customized description, friends list and personal blog. They can also join groups, participate in fund raising, and arrange events all from an interface that is both easy-to-use and familiar to any Facebook or MySpace user.