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Will Elections Ever be the Same?

Nov 2, 2008 Blogs, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, Social Media, social networks, word of mouth

Yes, I know I live in Canada, and yet numerous times in the past few weeks I have posted about the US election. But, it is far more interesting than our own recent election, which cost more than it was worth!. So, here is another post…

Will elections, or for that matter politics, ever be the same after this US election? This election has set the bar for how elections will play out online. Finally, (say those of us who are digital evangelists) it seems politicians have realized the power of the ‘net to spread the message, build community and target the campaign. Certainly not all politicians “get it” - but both the Democrats and Republicans have joined the digital space to some extent.

Obama / Biden

The Obama and Biden camp have by far outstripped the McCain/Palin group in using the internet to attract and engage voters. Obama’s campaign more than any other in history has been funded and powered through online organization.

Twitter

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Barack Obama (or his team!) has been on Twitter since April 2007. His updates have ranged from where he is speaking to thoughts on the Iraq war. He has over 100,000 followers, and he is following them back.

Search Campaign

According to ClickZ in a post in September post the Obama/Biden campaign spent $5.5 million on Online Advertising between January and August 2008. The majority of that spend has been with Google. Of course the Democrats have spent a lot more on Television advertising than they have online!

BarackObama.com

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BarackObama.com went up in February 2007, just before Barack Obama announced his intention to run for President. This site will likely be a template for future elections in the US and abroad. It goes well beyond Web 1.0 (brochure-web) to offer voters the chance to engage with the Democratic Party and other members of the public who share their enthusiasm for Barack Obama.

- There is the usual information on where to vote, how to check your personal voter information, and resources for volunteers- The site has an enormous amount of detail on the specific issues and the policies Obama and Biden are presenting in their campaign. This section is easy to navigate, with a drop down menu of the target areas (Foreign Policy, Taxes, Environment) and then within each section there are key points above the fold, and more specialized sections below (Foreign Policy has a section “On Israel”, “Iran” and of course the War in Iraq ). Where applicable they have a side by side comparison called “Obama vs McCain”.- There is a menu titled “People” which drops down to groups such as “Seniors for Obama” or “Jewish Americans for Obama”. Each section outlines key issues of concern to that group. In true Web 2.0 style you can “join” or “invite a friend”!- There are also press releases, copies of news articles, photos, and videos- And, what online campaign headquarters would be complete without a place to donate?

If all that is too Web 1.0 for you - not to worry there is a social network, widgets to download and a blog!

Social Network:

My.BarackObama.com is a Social Network for Obama supporters, started in 2007 by the Obama camp. Community members have set up with thousands of groups, planned local events, and written many blog posts about the election. Users have the ability to search and host local events as well as locate and communicate with like-minded individuals. As with any social network you can find friends (or invite them!), and add them to your profile.

One thing that has been very interesting this election is how Obama / Biden have canvassed for donations for the campaign, and allowed the community at large to self-organize. The Internet has been an integral part of the fundraising process and support network. Indeed, beyond posting blogs and creating a profile members can plan local events, volunteer to make calls and canvas their neighborhood. They can also set up their very own Fundraising page with a few clicks they can create a page, set a goal, and then canvas their friends for contributions.

Blog:

- BarackObama.com has an “official” blog as well written by various Obama staff members. The first post was in February 2007 when the site went live, and now there are over 500 pages of content! The posts are open for comments, and easy to share on other social networks (Digg, Facebook, Stumble Upon etc).

Downloads:

Of course there are the usual downloads -logos, Screen Savers, Desktops, photos, posters and documents. But keeping with the Web 2.0 theme, they have Widgets (latest news, latest videos etc) to download for your blog, Site Badges, and Icons for IM!

Obama Everywhere

The Obama campaign didn’t wait for people to visit their site, they also went where the people were. They are active on a variety of the hottest Social Networks, including:

McCain/Palin

The Republicans on the other hand are a bit less involved online than the Democratic camp. As McCain told the New York Times earlier this month, “he had not mastered how to use the Internet and relied on his wife and aides” and “I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need.”

JohnMcCain.com

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Despite saying this in July, the McCain/Palin website seems to have launched a blog, albeit a bit late in the campaign. The first entry I found was October 20th. As well, three months ago they began a Social Network titled McCainSpace, but there are very few groups created by members and certainly less interaction and engagement from members. It may be due to the network being difficult to find. It is not advertised on the main page at all, you have to go to a menu to find a linked titled “McCainSpace”. On the social network members can upload photos, videos and write blog posts as well.

Obviously if I were American, I would vote for Obama (in case you didn’t catch by bias from my previous political posts!) but I did spend some time on the McCain site to get a feel for how it was using Social Media. For one, they are a little late in the game, playing catch up to the Obama web site, but better late than never. That said, I find McCain’s attitude towards new media a bit disconcerting. I realize he is 72, and many 72 year olds aren’t always up on new tech**, but then not all 72 year olds are not vying for the Presidency! His ignorance regarding the Internet, therefore says more about his lack of “intellectual curiosity” than it does about his technical abilities. While he obviously recognizes his lack knowledge an is now trying to learn, it amazes me that since the Internet has changed so much over the last 10-15 years (for example: communication, business, education, news, and even ELECTIONS!) that John McCain hasn’t seen the need to pay attention try and figure this Internet thing before July 2008! Perhaps had the Republican party and John McCain paid more attention to what was going on around them, they would have at least hired a team able to build an Internet campaign. It appears, however, the little that they have done has been less than adequate (according to many news sources), including poorly done newsletters, poorly executed blog posts and absent mobile campaign.

** Note that a PEW Internet study that more than 1/3 of Americans 65 and older are using the Internet!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Blogs, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, Social Media, social networks, word of mouth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.