September 30, 2010
Anyone who was paying attention to Barack Obama’s campaign for presidency has no doubt come to realize the potential power that social media holds for the political arena. From a grassroots campaign using social media marketing to songs by the “Obama girls” to live video messages on YouTube, Barack embraced the Web 2.0 philosophy as a means to attract young voters and get his message out to the people in the most expedient way possible: via the world wide web. And it’s no surprise that other savvy politicians have reaped the benefits of his success and taken the opportunity to jump on the social media bandwagon, becoming part of a cultural revolution that has somehow managed to give power back to the people.
In truth, politicians are doing the same thing they have always done. They have taken something that belongs to the masses and exploited it to their own ends. In the case of the upcoming 2010 elections, Republicans seem to have taken the lead in the social media arena, at least if you give any credence to the numbers. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have all seen a dramatic rise in followers of GOP (Republican) sponsored pages, while Democrats have either remained fairly level or gone up only slightly. In every major avenue of social media, it would appear that Republicans have the lead, and by a large margin. This is no doubt due to a push by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to extend their party platform to a diverse group of people. It started with a Twitter campaign and spread through links and widgets. In short, they have found a way to utilize social media to its fullest potential.
Democrats, on the other hand, may be kicking themselves for their policy of local handshaking come election day. While they have stuck to their one-on-one tactics to try to secure favorable voting, they have certainly fallen short of the success Obama realized during his bid for presidency only two short years ago. It seems they have taken an almost literal view of what a grassroots movement is supposed to entail, and if they are counting on word of mouth to save the day, they appear to be facing a silent epidemic. And failing to see the forest for the trees when it comes to social networking may prove to be their downfall.
In any case, it remains to be seen whether or not the Republican web presence will actually put them ahead of the game in the upcoming elections (or if it’s only a virtual victory). Obama’s popularity was certainly bolstered by his acceptance of the web as a powerful tool for communication. However, there are still a fair number of citizens who have little to do with the working of the internet, or at least social media. And it must be noted that midterm elections never draw the same crowds as a presidential race, especially where the younger demographic of voters is concerned. But there can be no denial that reaching one’s constituency, by any means possible, is the best way to secure votes. And it seems that social media has an ongoing role to play in the way campaigns are run, and elections decided.
Jeffrey Marlow writes for Financialized, a Canadian finance blog that offers an unbiased perspective on personal finance topics
