As far as social networking and its involvement in the political campaign, I have no doubt that there was any issue with public acceptance. It was not only embraced by internet users, but also pulled into existance by them. Obama did revolutionize the web medium, yet it was the immense support for him that really made it spread and ultimately effective.
On the YouTube video "Brack Obama YouTube Spotlight", he is virtually face-to-face with the watcher and stating his intentions. He represents the modern American, engaging in a world of new technology. By connecting with us through our chosen medium, he gains our trust.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk3hpVt8Nfk
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Costs Continued
Obama's second-quarter fund-raising total: $31 million (beating past president Clinton).
Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign - TIME:
"It's a buzz that Obama is finding new and creative ways to fuel, adapting to a world in which the concept of community has grown to include MySpace and Facebook. No campaign has been more aggressive in tapping into social networks and leveraging the financial power of hundreds of thousands of small donors. Nor has any other campaign found such innovative ways to extend its reach by using the Internet--more than $10 million of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less.
The advantages of Internet fund raising are many. It's quick, cheap and far less intimidating for political novices than writing a big check. Some campaigns have set up systems by which donors can have their credit cards billed automatically in easy-to-budget monthly amounts of as little as $20. 'We're seeing the full flowering of the Internet for fund raising for presidential races,' says former Federal Election Commission chairman Michael Toner, who is currently advising Republican Fred Thompson as he ponders whether to enter the fray."
Source:
Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign. Tumulty, Karen. Time Magazine. July 05, 2007. Retreived October 29, 2009.
Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign - TIME:
"It's a buzz that Obama is finding new and creative ways to fuel, adapting to a world in which the concept of community has grown to include MySpace and Facebook. No campaign has been more aggressive in tapping into social networks and leveraging the financial power of hundreds of thousands of small donors. Nor has any other campaign found such innovative ways to extend its reach by using the Internet--more than $10 million of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less.
The advantages of Internet fund raising are many. It's quick, cheap and far less intimidating for political novices than writing a big check. Some campaigns have set up systems by which donors can have their credit cards billed automatically in easy-to-budget monthly amounts of as little as $20. 'We're seeing the full flowering of the Internet for fund raising for presidential races,' says former Federal Election Commission chairman Michael Toner, who is currently advising Republican Fred Thompson as he ponders whether to enter the fray."
Source:
Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign. Tumulty, Karen. Time Magazine. July 05, 2007. Retreived October 29, 2009.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Costs of the Obama Campaign
I'd like to take a minute and discuss the costs of having a presidential campaign. Normally, the expenses are enormous. I think that the way that Obama cut these costs through the use of free internet tools not only minimized his own budget, but also gained funding for his campaign.
Free subscriptions to media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube aided in the advertising for Obama. During Kennedy's campaign, the television was his medium of effectiveness in reaching out to millions through one centralized point of contact. In modern society, his campaign has been replicated but by means of internet media. The audience is tremendous and the effect is obvious. Obama repeated history (Kennedy-style) and was able to birth a new form of internet politics.
Past presidents have traveled from city to city, delivering promising speeches to a crowd of listeners. Now it's possible to deliver that same speech electronically, thus cutting down not only traveling expenses, but also speaking to a much larger audience through the click of a mouse in the comfort of one's own living room. "Change is here, change is now," states Obama. I guess he was right.
Free subscriptions to media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube aided in the advertising for Obama. During Kennedy's campaign, the television was his medium of effectiveness in reaching out to millions through one centralized point of contact. In modern society, his campaign has been replicated but by means of internet media. The audience is tremendous and the effect is obvious. Obama repeated history (Kennedy-style) and was able to birth a new form of internet politics.
Past presidents have traveled from city to city, delivering promising speeches to a crowd of listeners. Now it's possible to deliver that same speech electronically, thus cutting down not only traveling expenses, but also speaking to a much larger audience through the click of a mouse in the comfort of one's own living room. "Change is here, change is now," states Obama. I guess he was right.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Obama and the Internet News Video
This is a great video showing just how Obama used the Internet as a very effective tool for his campaign. A closer look is also taken into funding through social networking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-UcVlwDsGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-UcVlwDsGE
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Barack Obama and the Facebook Election - US News and World Report article (click here)
This is a portion of a truly insightful article.
Barack Obama and the Facebook Election - US News and World Report:
"We know that Obama's landmark victory was due, in part, to a groundswell of support among young Americans. Early in his campaign, political pollsters were observing that Obama was 'rocking the youth vote.' This proved true: Exit polls revealed that Obama had won nearly 70 percent of the vote among Americans under age 25—the highest percentage since U.S. exit polling began in 1976. Obama enjoyed a groundswell of support among, for lack of a better term, the Facebook generation. He will be the first occupant of the White House to have won a presidential election on the Web.
This election was the first in which all candidates—presidential and congressional—attempted to connect directly with American voters via online social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. It has even been called the 'Facebook election.' It is no coincidence that one of Obama's key strategists was 24-year-old Chris Hughes, a Facebook cofounder. It was Hughes who masterminded the Obama campaign's highly effective Web blitzkrieg—everything from social networking sites to podcasting and mobile messaging. Facebook was not unaware of its suddenly powerful role in American electoral politics. During the presidential campaign, the site launched its own forum to encourage online debates about issues. Facebook also teamed up with ABC for election coverage and political forums. And CNN teamed up with YouTube to hold presidential debates".
Source:
Barack Obama and the Facebook Election. Fraser, Matthew and Dutta, Soumitra. November 19, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
The majority of youth were very involved in the presidential election. The voice of the younger generation was louder than I have ever heard it, more passionate and radical than ever previously experienced. To think of it, I remember a quote I had once read:
"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future". ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
The young engaged in deciding the future and stating their presence through the powerful medium, the Internet. Furthermore, Obama won the hearts of those youth. Students were blogging debates and recording themselves, ranting with excitement about the election. I believe that connections were building among the younger generation because we joined online to fight for and believe in something together that was bigger than us, yet united us. The future was changing with every keyboard tap and mouse click. The youth were helping to mold and create the future that we wanted to live in.
Barack Obama and the Facebook Election - US News and World Report:
"We know that Obama's landmark victory was due, in part, to a groundswell of support among young Americans. Early in his campaign, political pollsters were observing that Obama was 'rocking the youth vote.' This proved true: Exit polls revealed that Obama had won nearly 70 percent of the vote among Americans under age 25—the highest percentage since U.S. exit polling began in 1976. Obama enjoyed a groundswell of support among, for lack of a better term, the Facebook generation. He will be the first occupant of the White House to have won a presidential election on the Web.
This election was the first in which all candidates—presidential and congressional—attempted to connect directly with American voters via online social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. It has even been called the 'Facebook election.' It is no coincidence that one of Obama's key strategists was 24-year-old Chris Hughes, a Facebook cofounder. It was Hughes who masterminded the Obama campaign's highly effective Web blitzkrieg—everything from social networking sites to podcasting and mobile messaging. Facebook was not unaware of its suddenly powerful role in American electoral politics. During the presidential campaign, the site launched its own forum to encourage online debates about issues. Facebook also teamed up with ABC for election coverage and political forums. And CNN teamed up with YouTube to hold presidential debates".
Source:
Barack Obama and the Facebook Election. Fraser, Matthew and Dutta, Soumitra. November 19, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
The majority of youth were very involved in the presidential election. The voice of the younger generation was louder than I have ever heard it, more passionate and radical than ever previously experienced. To think of it, I remember a quote I had once read:
"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future". ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
The young engaged in deciding the future and stating their presence through the powerful medium, the Internet. Furthermore, Obama won the hearts of those youth. Students were blogging debates and recording themselves, ranting with excitement about the election. I believe that connections were building among the younger generation because we joined online to fight for and believe in something together that was bigger than us, yet united us. The future was changing with every keyboard tap and mouse click. The youth were helping to mold and create the future that we wanted to live in.
Status Update: Obama has arrived!
I have decided to address Barack Obama's presidential campaign in relation to social networking. Looking back at past elections for the role of president, I had never seen such involvement from the younger generation. I considered that this could have been due to my age during the last election, but further research on the matter has convinced me that our current, technologically-inclined youth were increasingly determined to spread their political beliefs via social networks.
Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter flooded with strong-minded comments, controversial arguments, and "Test Your Obama Knowledge" quizzes. Online pins and bumper-stickers were pasted to profiles proclaiming their devotion to their candidate. Technology and government leagued and the online revolution began. I have included an article by U.S. News called "Barack Obama and the Facebook Election" that digs deeper into this view of the technological campaign.
Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter flooded with strong-minded comments, controversial arguments, and "Test Your Obama Knowledge" quizzes. Online pins and bumper-stickers were pasted to profiles proclaiming their devotion to their candidate. Technology and government leagued and the online revolution began. I have included an article by U.S. News called "Barack Obama and the Facebook Election" that digs deeper into this view of the technological campaign.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Assignment (with background James Bond music)
I am creating this blog for my online class, New Communication Technology, and will be addressing a certain topic over the course of several weeks. My chosen selection is:
"Which new communications technologies were most effective in the 2008 U.S. elections? While the presidential campaign is probably the most visible one, you are free to focus on Congress, state, and/or local races as well. How do these technologies differ in terms of cost, impact, and public acceptance?"
"Which new communications technologies were most effective in the 2008 U.S. elections? While the presidential campaign is probably the most visible one, you are free to focus on Congress, state, and/or local races as well. How do these technologies differ in terms of cost, impact, and public acceptance?"
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