2008 Elections: A Technology Advantage
The political landscape has been radically changed in the recent years by new forms of media. This essay will show that in the 2008 election, the willingness to embrace technology, such as Face book, Twitter and YouTube was key to winning the race. The heavy use of these new platforms provide an unparalleled way to get their message to an audience that is wide spread.
What does it take to win the presidential election? Is it the number of supporters? Maybe it is the message you are spreading. What about the lobbyists that are funding the campaigns. There are many factors that go into running for president of the United States. One of the few countries where we, as citizens, have a small say in who is elected. It is the right of every citizen to cast a vote for who they believe will lead the country in the right direction over the next four years. The candidate with the most votes should be the one that wins the race.
The most important thing for a candidate to do is get their name out to the general public. As we have stated before, it is the public that makes the final decision. There are many different ways to reach out to the citizens, each having obstacles to overcome. Some methods cost a lot of money and target a large audience. Other channels are less expensive, or even free, and can reach a targeted group of individuals.
The classic channels of advertisement for the candidates revolved around radio, television and old fashion face-to-face interaction. The candidates would pay for opponent bashing commercials, appear in televised debates and hold rallies to motivate their followers. This type of communication requires a lot of funding to pay for television time. It is also limited in the availability of the media. If consumers are not available at the time the event airs, there is a chance those individuals may miss it all together. The people that happen to see the event, may have missed some important points made.
When all of the candidates use these classic channels, everyone is on the same playing field. Each candidate has an equal opportunity to reach the same audience. One of the obstacles that the candidates face is reaching the rest of the voting citizens that are not affected by the classic media channels. The 2008 election was a historic event in many different ways. This was the first time that an election had a female and an African-American candidate. The first time that web applications and the internet has played a major role in a candidates tactics.
The use of the internet to provide information for the public about the candidates on generic websites is not new. These days, everyone has a website and popular pages can get thousands, even millions of hits a day. During the 2008 campaigns, all of the candidates had a website to share their policies and direction. Having a website provides a new media channel for reaching followers because it is always available. Unlike television ads or rallies, which are only available at a specific time, the websites can be accessed at any time of day from the comfort of your own home. These websites also provide a central location to help raise funds for the campaign. Obama’s website, myBarackObama.com, registered 1.5 million volunteers and raised $600 million from 3 million people(Kiss,2008). In addition, the site built a database of 3 million mobile numbers, from supporters, by promising news updates before the classical media channels.
Not only did Obama use the default web site as his internet presence, he also took advantage of a few other popular applications for social networking. The first tool that he took advantage of is called Twitter, found at http://www.twitter.com.
“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?(Twitter)”
The idea behind Twitter was to create a method for people to stay in touch with friends by updating their status at any given time. In no way does the definition, mentioned above, insinuate a connection with any political agendas. The platform was not built on the idea that business or individuals would use it to promote products or ideas. “In the run-up to November’s election, Senator Obama – or one of his staff members – typed more than 250 updates to his Twitter account (Boutin,2009).” As we can see, Obama was able to use Twitter to update his followers with his status, or the news they needed to be informed.
One of the most notable events for Obama on Twitter was his decision to announce his running mate (future vice president) on Twitter before any other media source. This dedication to his Twitter followers helps build a trust relationship and forms a bond that other types of media cannot do. The followers feel appreciated and important because they are among the elite to hear the news first. Not only did this bring the current Twitterers closer, it also promoted the service and attracted others to join for the opportunity to stay in the loop.
Face book is another social networking site that was used by Senator Obama to promote his candidacy. Face book has become a very popular site that allows people to create online profiles and share them with friends. Like Twitter, Face book has the ability to provide status updates, but takes it a step further by allowing chats, photos, profile information and much more. Face book was created by some college students that wanted a way to keep in touch with friends. The idea of a political platform was not on the radar during this creation. The use of Face book allowed Senator Obama to reach a new target of individuals. This niche group of users may not be watching the television commercials or attending rallies. Their attention is best achieved through online pages accessible through their single point of entrance, their profile. They are provided with all the information they need, all in one location. This group also tends to be the younger, more impressionable generation that may not be as motivated to partake in the election process. Obama’s Face book page is found at http://www.facebook.com/barackobama
YouTube is the third site that provided a new level of campaigning during the 2008 elections. YouTube is a video sharing site where anyone can create a video and post it for the world to see. These videos, when done correctly, can spread through the online communities like wild fire. Senator Obama used YouTube to post many videos describing his campaign. There is an entire section at http://www.youtube.com/barackobama that contains videos related to Obama and Biden. Whether the videos are created by the Obama administration or by his supporters, the videos provide a feeling of connectivity for his followers. Supporters could now feel engaged in the campaign. Users could create and submit their own videos showing their support or asking questions they feel are important. No longer are the voters just standing by, watching the campaigns. They can not take an active role in the process. Having the ability to pose questions and see a response provides a strong connection and a feeling that your opinions matter. That this candidate does listen, and is not just saying what people want to hear to get elected. The video linked above shows how YouTube opens Obama, behind the scenes, up the the people so he can build trust by keeping an open campaign.
This essay has given a few examples of the new technology platforms that Senator Obama decided to take advantage of during his 2008 campaign. Through these channels, he was able to raise much more money than his competitors and persuade many more supporters to vote for him. These platforms provided a way for the election process to reach out to people that may not normally get involved. A way to reach the younger generation that feel comfortable working with these applications. The willingness to embrace these new technologies created a trust with the users of these applications who feel that politicians and government are out of date. This campaign was to show that Obama understands the new generations and embraces these changes. Senator McCain did not show the same enthusiasm for these platforms and stayed on course for the traditional campaign. This limited his audience size and outcast the users of these new technologies.
Technology is quickly providing different means for sharing information. The adoption of this technology is rapidly growing, especially among the younger generations. Many users no longer watch news on television or read the newspaper. All of their news and information comes from online sources. The ability to reach these individuals through the use of Face book, Twitter and YouTube creates a large advantage during the campaign. It allows media to circulate via trust relationships as opposed to just from the campaigners to the supporters. Now, friends and co-workers are spreading the information, adding their own flavor to each item. This ultimately led to the advantage Obama had with supporters over McCain.
