www.todaysseniornetwork.comIt seems that the influence of technology has inevitably made its presence in the political arena worldwide. I can still recall how we Malaysians witness the impact of the Internet in our 12th General Election held earlier this year. Now, US Presidential candidates are tapping into the Internet zone to gain the people’s support.
Shiels (2008) from BBC News reported that recently elected US President, Barack Obama had used iPhone as political recruiting tool. The application, named ‘Call Friends’ were developed by volunteers to help voters organize contacts in swing states. Besides that, it also allows one to get up-to-date news and videos on the ongoing campaigns (Shiels, 2008). The Internet seems to be a bigger player in the presidential campaigns this year as Obama and McCain used websites, YouTube and Facebook as campaigning tools to raise funds, air announcements and to gain popularity by raising their social networking profile (Shiels, 2008).
www.responsiblemarketing.comBarack Obama's Presidential Announcement, YouTube, 10th December 2007.
With more than 600 million Internet users (Internet usage in Asia, 2008) in the world, reaching out to electorates via the web seems to be a viable strategy indeed. However, Finkelstein (2008) does not he seem to agree. He argues that great Internet campaigns that are heavily saturated with marketing tactics does not guarantee success in politics, as shown in John Edwards Democratic campaign in the UK recently.
Nonetheless, in my opinion, it will be hard to disregard the new media as a big player in politics in years to come. This is because political websites offer a much more dynamic way for citizens to be engaged in politics. Websites that have relevant video, audio and graphic elements will definitely lure the attention of readers, as Reep (2005) states.
Reference List
Shiels, M. 2008, Obama uses iPhone to win support, BBC News, October 3rd, viewed 10th November 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/7649753.stm
Finkelstein, S. 2008, Great internet campaigns don't guarantee success in politics, guardian.co.uk, viewed 8th November 2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/14/politics.internet
Reep, D. 2006, Technical writing: document design, 6th ed., Pearson and Longman, New York, chapt.6, pp. 133-172.
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