By Alison Tierney
I found this article on the Harvard website and found it fascinating.
It closely examines the effects of the Internet on the 2004 election. What they didn’t approach though, was the idea that the Internet is still relatively new. Since the Internet began in the 1990s, it is important to realize that it is the younger generations that access the Internet. So in terms of affecting the election, I cannot imagine that the Internet has had so much of an impact on senior citizens, who’ve lived a majority of their lives without the Internet.
A man quoted that this is online phenomenon concerning the election is the “Democratization of democracy.” What he means by this is that the Internet has allowed politics to return to a type of grassroots movement, where blogs and websites mimic the idea of ‘door to door’ campaigning. The Internet reaches every web-surfer on a more intimate level. Mass emails have replaced the idea of calling each potential voter. Instead of reading up on politicians only in the paper, we can know read about them in open blogsites- and going even farther, we can post our own responses and opinions.
The Internet not only works as another frontier for campaigning, but as a foreshadower of public opinion. It doesn’t replace the idea of popularity polls, but it absolutely supplements it. It provides, for politicians, a more instant response to anything from speeches to appearances. The Internet, in some ways, may affect the direction of a certain campaign by allowing the politician to view immediate feedback from voters.
I believe that the Internet has changed the idea and form of campaigning, but the question lies in the fact that we are unsure if the actual numbers have been changed when it comes to end vote. It is also important to keep in mind, that at this point in time the Internet will only have a strong influence on our youngest voters.
7 Comments
September 26, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Candidates understand that traditional methods of campaigning do not suffice in today’s world. With the advancement of the web and all the attention it’s engaging, I don’t think they can afford to skimp on electronic advertising. Although the majority of people being affected by this electronic campaign is the youth, that is the group with the most voting potential and it needs to be stimulated. Both Obama and Clinton had gone outside the borders of the rigid campaigning format. Candidates have even created profiles on Facebook, allowing people to claim them as “friends.”
The accessibility of information through the internet also places a certain responsibility on the shoulder’s of the younger generation. The more we know, the more we should feel compelled to share our knowledge with others. And since there is a generation gap that exists between our parents us, we can act as a liaison instead of spending frustrating hours explaining to mom and dad how to use a computer.
September 28, 2008 at 9:13 pm
The internet has undoubtly changed the way campaigns are conducted. As Jessica has stated above, all candidates seems to have utilized the internet in their attempts to reach out, not so much towards the older generation, but more so towards the younger generation. CNN has also provided the ability for people to question the candidates via YouTube. However, I believe this trend of online campaigning holds a revolutionary potential. Campaigning via the internet can provide a rather inexpensive method of reaching out to millions of people across the country. Thus, it can potentially provide those individual, who are motivated to run for public office, a chance to do so without breaking the budget.
September 29, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Campaigning through the Internet has allowed politicians to reach to many more people. In the past, voters would get all their information from interviews, debates, newspapers and television. However, that information was limited to what those sources wanted to say. Since the web was created, voters now have the chance to research everything they want to know about a politician and therefore have a more educated vote. I agree with James Liu that campaigning on the Internet allows more people to compete for public office, and as campaigning on the Internet progresses, voters will be able to better decide which candidate is best with all the information they have access to.
September 30, 2008 at 6:20 pm
campaigning on the internet is pretty much required for a candidate to stay in the race and competitive, but the candidate’s support online does not always correspond to how well he will do in the polls. look at Ron Paul. he had a huge following online, and even won a few online caucuses, and barely took 3% of the popular vote during the democratic primary in those same states. yet a candidate who is out of the loop online, like how McCain was during the first primaries, will have a lasting effect on the candidates success, McCain was the underdog in the beginning of the primaries.
October 2, 2008 at 11:31 am
I think the internet is a crucial factor in today’s society to gain younger ages groups’ votes. However, most of todays voters come from older people/ senior citizens. These people dont know how to use the internet as well because they didnt grow up with it. That may be the reason that Ron Paul was a major hit online, but not during the primary. It is a good thing that McCain did get more on the internet now though. I guess he realized that in order to sway younger people to vote for him, he should be all over the web like Obama. (a majority of young people tend to be democratic)
October 4, 2008 at 12:27 am
The new thing about candidates and the internet is the instant feedback. They can see what went wrong, what the people are thinking, and what the people want. For example, the vice presidential debate was just a day ago, and already there are videos on youtube which mock some of the candidates and support others. I think this revelation is important so that the candidates can become more involved with the people and that there may be some common ground developed. It is definitely a foreshadow of public opinion.
The internet does however, continue to target a younger generation, and I agree less-so on the senior-citizens. I am actually really anxious to see how this will have an effect on the voter-turnout for the 2008 presidential election.
October 5, 2008 at 3:40 pm
The internet of course has had one of the biggest, if not the biggest impact on how campaigns are being run. I would have to disagree with Alison a little bit on the point about the internet not affecting senior citizens. Yes, I am sure it has had a bigger impact on our age group, but if you think about it, doesn’t your grandparents and “older” friends and family always send you silly e-mails. Well, I do not know about you guys, but my grandma certainly does, and we all know damn well that there are always ads on the internet for the candidates. Not only are the advertisements popping up on their screens, but also the e-mails themselves are often directed towards the candidates. Why not use my grandma as an example… Huge HIllary fan, and of course sent me (an Obama fan) all of these e-mails claiming he is a terrorist, he hates Jews, blah blah blah. Now that he is the democrat candidate, she of course sends e-mails out to me and all of her friends and family that do nothing but support Barack and his campaign. I think the internet has definitely helped, but also hurt as well how campaigns are being run.