New Media in Politics
From Baruchnewmedia
Introduction
We are living in an information age, where technology has made new media, such as Wikipedia, Facebook, and YouTube, readily available. In this new media environment, we have the ability to actively engage in the political process by commenting on and creating blogs, sending interesting newspaper articles to those we know or who follow us (e.g. on twitter), and sending YouTube videos to all who are interested. In other words, today, we no longer have to be passive observers in the political media process; it is far easier to actively participate in it.
In the 2008 presidential election, a variety of factors contributed to the complexity of the election. The positions taken by democratic and republican candidates differed dramatically on such issues as the war in Iraq and universal health care. Two democratic candidates were also fighting to be either the first black male or first female president. To get people's attention, both candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama used the internet. And as almost all observers now agree Barack Obama did a much better job of it then either Mrs. Clinton or the Republican challenger John McCain. His use of Facebook for example, helped Obama raise far more money then either of his competitors and allowed him to create a vast grass roots organization that was crucial in helping him win the election. He was also able to respond to mistakes made by McCain such as when his Republican challenger stated the economy was ok when in fact we were entering the worst recession the United States has had since the depression. (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/election/115362.php)
After being elected President Obama and his administration have continued to use web 2.0 technologies to reach out to the public by creating such sites as www.change.gov.
References:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15984.html
http://blogs.zdnet.com/weblife/?p=261
References:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15984.html
http://blogs.zdnet.com/weblife/?p=261
New Media and American Politics
This age of new media has had a profound impact on American politics. New media enables people to feel closer to politicians and to stay informed at all times from anywhere. Citizens are able to be actively engaged participants in politics because of these new media technologies. For example, people were able sign up for mobile alerts from political candidates which is one way they stayed in the know, but there were also many other methods to stay updated, like YouTube. Anyone with an Internet connection could participate or simply watch all of the exchanges going on, on YouTube or anywhere else. Sixteen of the one-time presidential candidates had channels on YouTube, and seven of those announced their candidacy through YouTube, which got millions of views. Not only can politicians use YouTube to connect with potential voters, normal people can also express themselves about the politicians and their campaigns. There were even presidential campaigns in which voters asked candidates questions through YouTube. Many of these sort of exchanges happen on YouTube all the time, some examples are:
- Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's campaign asked supporters to make political commercials for his campaign. What he got was hundreds of free online ads after they were put on the Web.
- Hundreds of thousands of voters responded to Senator Clinton's request for them to vote for her campaign theme song on YouTube.
- Senator Barack Obama reached almost five million voters on YouTube with a 37-minute clip of his speech on race in America, shattering the notion that only short, lowbrow clips bubble to the top of the Internet's political ecosystem.
Some candidates successfully used celebrities like Michael J. Fox (Sen. McCaskill- '06) and Chuck Norris (Sen. McCain - '08) in their viral videos to promote their messages.
Along with video's on YouTube, nonprofit organizations often have their own websites on which they have their own videos. MoveOn.org is a liberal leaning organization that promotes their agenda using popular videos that they host both on their site and on YouTube. They use public figures, such as Will Ferrel, to attract voters to their videos and have created a large loyal following. The best way to understand their reach is by looking at an example. In the 2006 elections in both Montana and Virginia, MoveOn’s membership can be said to have been the deciding votes in both Jon Tester and Jim Webb’s victories. Tester won the Montana election by only 2,644 votes where the MoveOn member turnout calls in that state was 73, 843. Similarly in Virginia Jim Webb won by only 7,236 votes where the MoveOn member turnout calls in that state were 345,289. MoveOn was able to influence their members in voting by having a vast archive of left-leaning videos and articles.
It's obvious that YouTube has affected politics tremendously. People are able to interact with each other at any given time, absolutely anywhere in the world. Many advocate groups, politicians and regular citizens were able to get their ideas seen and heard by millions of people with the help of YouTube, which was unheard of before with the barriers of time and space.
Along with YouTube, Facebook has also have a profound affect on American Politics. In 2008 around 8.2% of adults in the United States were active on Facebook: 40% identify as liberal, 30% as conservative, and 30% as moderate. Looking at Facebook usage from a state to state perspective sheds new light on the correlation of Facebook usage to involvement in politics. Looking at the ten states with greatest voter turnout in the 2004 election shows that four of the ten were in the top ten states in Facebook usage amongst adults and eight of the ten are above the average for Facebook usage. A shocking number is that of Facebook penetration amongst adults in Washington D.C., the county’s political capital. 47% percent of adults in D.C. use Facebook, beating the country’s average by almost 40%.
Twitter had a huge impact on the 2008 elections. This new media was so effective during the campaigns as well as the elections of 2008, that "the service went down due to the volume of usage." Twitter has been very efficient when it comes to advertising politics and elections as well as campaigns all over the United States. During the 2008 elections, people would twitter any updates that were going on as well as tweet their friends to urge them to vote. This type of technology has been very successful because it has created an environment where people all over the United States and the world can communicate at the same time on the same issue, in this case regarding politics. Even the President of the United States, Barack Obama, has a Twitter account which by the way helped him gain many votes during his campaign. Through his Twitter account President Obama would communicate to his Twitter friends what his administration will work on and what they will strive for.
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2008/01/02/2008-statistics-on-american-politics-on-facebook
http://www.newmediamusings.com/2006/11/moveons_electio.html
References: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/original/donkphant_democrats_vs_republicans.jpg
New Media & American Politics - Pre-2008
New Media has been used in conjunction with politics since the technology emerged. Because of the perception that, to date, the 2008 U.S. Presidential election most effectively used and aggressively, particularly the Obama campaign, relied on new media, that this is the first attempt its inclusion.
Candidates slowly began generating campaign websites in the 1990’s, expanding to the new emerging uses every election cycle. The usage of biographical DVD’s in 2000, the beginning usage of social networks in 2004 and of internet contributions, and the explosion of social networking usage in 2006 and 2008.
-- Jorge Ruiz 17:45, 14 April 2010 (CDT)
New Media Usage in the 2006 Midterm Elections and the 2008 Presidential Elections: A Then and Now Perpective
Partisan Pundits in New Media
Partisan Pundits in New Media
--DavidFang 11:07, 30 October 2008 (CDT)
New Media in International Politics
New Media is being heavily used in U.S politics. The last U.S presidential election illustrates that beautifully. All major candidates and their parties used new media in conjunction with old media to spread their opinions and political messages. New media is an important tool in any election, in most developed countries. My concern is the role of New Media in less developed countries. Most of the under-developed or developing countries face many challenges such poverty, unemployment, malaria, and AIDS. I believe that these countries will, one day, take advantage of new media to advance their political views about world affairs, although the challenges of everyday life are huge.
--Ousmane 7:14, 12 December 2008 (CDT)
With new media,the entire world is becoming a global village and there are some dramatic,political implications.It was probably the appalling footage and pictures of horrible scene in Darfur and Zimbabwe that demonstrated the power of motion pictures to affect the collective consciousness of a world audience.People used youtube and social network to make their voice heard.
Youtube :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXdWDM4fmRY
Save darfur:http://savedarfur.org/content?splash=yes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM3_z2RB3YU&feature=related
A decade ago, regime opponents in Vietnam or Tunisia were still printing leaflets in their basements and handing them out to fellow militants at clandestine meetings. Independent newspapers were no more than a few hastily-stapled photocopies distributed secretly. These days, “subversive” or “counter-revolutionary” material goes on the Internet, and political dissidents and journalists have become “cyber-dissidents” and “online journalists.” Most of them know how to create a blog, organize a chat group, make phone calls through a computer, and use a proxy to get around censorship. New technology allows them to receive and share news out of sight of the authorities. The Web is also a blessing for human rights groups, which can now build a file on a political prisoner with a few mouseclicks instead of over weeks and sometimes months. The Web makes networking much easier for political activists, as well as teenagers. Unfortunately, the progress and use of new tools by activists are now being matched by the efforts of dictatorships to prevent them from using those tools.
--Louarbou 9:32, February 26 2009 (CDT)
Source:
http://socweb.cis.mcmaster.ca/polisci/images/international%20relations.jpg
New Political Communication Units : Web 2.0 Politics
After Barack Obama won the election, the webpage (www.change.gov) was created. On the website, there is a menu called “Open Government,” which collects public opinion about government strategies. In addition, change.gov posts job openings. Since Obama's election, the US government has been rebuilding the website in hopes of strengthening relations with the public. John F Kennedy changed politics by using the TV to communicate with the masses; Obama is trying to change politics by using new media, like the internet, to communicate with the masses. Obama spread Web 2.0 politics”.
Web 2.0 Politics
It is the new way of politics by using the characteristics of Web 2.0, which are “participate, share, open”. The major tools of Web 2.0 Politics are blogs and UCC on the internet. Web 2.0 Politics is supposed to be an absolute open network. Web 2.0 politics can have communication both ways, which encourages the public to participate in politics and share their opinions so that government can strengthen the public’s sense of unity.
Barack Obama's first internet video communication had been distributed by Youtube. It will be distributed weekly.Weekly Address
--Jongkyung Kim 11:15, 15 December 2008 (CDT)
Politicians' Use of Social Networking
In the recent election, all of the politicians involved made use of social networks such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook, but Barack Obama took it to the next level by creating his own social network, [My.BarackObama.com]. Two million profiles were created on that website, and five million people showed their support via MySpace and Facebook. They used these websites to involve the new generation which revolves around the media (Generation M). The above mentioned social networks along with many others, reached out to the youth and made them feel as if their opinion really mattered. Politicians are actually accessible to everyone with an Internet connection, as where before people felt distant because the only way to get a feel for politicians was to watch them on television or read about them in the newspapers.[1]
President Obama's social network gave supporters the opportunity and encouragement to communicate amongst themselves. Members of my.barackobama.com could join local groups, create events and sign up for updates on the campaign. When Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race, the people on Obama's campaign e-mail list were asked to rally Hillary's supporters by hosting "Unite for Change" houseparties. Almost 4,000 parties were held. This shows that these social networks are useful in actually mobilizing the public and not merely people chatting about what should be done.[2]
In addition to that, President Obama’s use of the internet in this campaign will be compared in the future with the historic first TV debate between JFK and Nixon. In that debate, Nixon was recovering from illness and, wearing little makeup, looked wan and uncomfortable, in contrast to the composed Kennedy. Nixon’s performance in the debate was perceived to be mediocre in the visual medium of television. The polls changed after the debate launching Kennedy to the presidency. It would unfair to say that JFK won because he looks good on camera but in the same way it will be silly not to give him credit for understanding how a TV debate could benefit his candidacy and give him an edge over Nixon. In a similar way, the same can be said about Obama and how he used internet to organize volunteers, raise funds, and communicate with voters to gain an edge in the campaign.
The main factor to use internet so powerfully has been the growing possibilities of social networking technologies and their massive reception. The use of new social networking software gave so great results to President Obama and his advisers that they are going to continue to use them from the their office. Every morning, Obama will receive a briefing from the ideas and opinions submitted by the Americans people through the websites such as, Change.gov and Whitehouse.gov. We do not know what the impact of this could be, but it is definitely encouraging. Online communities and social networking tools encourage two-ways communication and these sites could become a place to have these conversations with the administration. It is clear that a lot of progress need to be done to assure that the government is listening, that this is not just a propaganda tool, but once again, this is just the beginning. This is encouraging to see that President Obama has been using social networking technology as one more way to stay in touch with the people, especially this is important in this difficult economic crisis.[3]
New Media and President Barack Obama
Use of New Media by Obama Campaign
New Media has become very relevant in our daily lives and plays a strong role in fields such as education, communication and politics. During the last presidential election, the use of new media became mainstream. For instance, political parties used new media to fundraise and to help make important political decisions.
The Obama campaign used new media wisely to achieve their political goals. The campaign raised an estimated $700 million, with a high percentage of small donors. The small donations were about $10 to $100 per person. The enabling of online donations with debit or credit cards was one of the most effective technologies the Obama campaign used. Equally important, the Obama campaign used new media to inform their supporters about relevant political decisions. For example, they used text messaging to announce Joseph Biden as Obama's running mate. Most news channels (traditional/old media) were expecting to get the news first, but the campaign made the announcement directly to the people through the use of new media. Ousmane 11:09, 12 December 2008 (CDT)
The effectiveness of the Obama campaign in using new media as a funding source has dramatically altered the political landscape. No longer are large donors the only contributors to political campaigns. Individual donations, when aggregated with new media technologies, have proven to be an effective alternative. New media also allows politicians to directly connect with their constituents. No longer are politicians beholden to old media sources to spread their message. New media allows politicians to gain support earlier and revise plans based on feedback from constituents. --John 09:58, 20 November 2008 (CST)
Article from The New York Times: How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks’ Power [4]
Lana 10:57, 30 October 2008 (CDT)
DavidFang 11:07, 30 October 2008 (CDT)
eli 21:40, 13 November 2008 (CST) http://www.knowthenetwork.com/blog/?p=672
eli http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7722721.stm
neal http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/welcome-new-media-campaign-tools-2012-0
eli 22:04, 19 November 2008 (CST)[5]
According to Wikipedia, Twitter is a social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read others user updates known as tweets.This morning I have seen politicians use twitter when Geithner and Bernanke were testifying before on capital hill.An article on techdirt also cited an instance where politicians are trying to use twitter at their advantage.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080708/1602521624.shtml
--Bado Louarbou
New Media in US political
In this modern world, New Media have been helpful and useful for politics. In the United States usually refers to internet, talk radio, print, and television journalism and opinions which present a point of the views of the American political. The piece covers alternative media sources including talk radio programs, blogs and other alternative media sources.
Alternative news services
- Inside Politics - Political news from CNN (aka All Politics)
- Politico - Lots of news
- AlterNet - publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources.
- American News Project - English-language journalism network broadcast via the Internet.
- Democracy Now! - syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion
- Signs of the Times (news website)
- theactivist.org
- The Real News - English-language global online video news network.
Alternative television networks
- Free Speech TV - Using both television and the Internet,
Alternative television programs
- Liberty News|Liberty News TV
- INN World Report - International News Net World Report Evening News.
Alternative radio programs
- Progressive talk radio - talk radio format in the United States devoted to expressing progressive/liberal viewpoints of issues.
- Air America Radio - American radio network specializing in politically liberal talk programming.
- Pacifica Radio - for its liberal and progressive political orientation.
- Democracy Now!
- Nova M Radio - progressive talk programming.
The World Wide Web and the accompanying explosion in "new media" have forced an upheaval in U.S. politics in at least four areas.
- 1) Innovative ways to reach voters
- 2) A radically changed news system
- 3) An unprecedented flood of small donors
- 4) Newly empowered interest groups on the left and the right
YouTube
YouTube also plays a big part in politics in the US. It is common knowledge that young people in America are just not involved in politics. They’re unaware of who their representatives are and what they stand for. By using YouTube as a way to reach the younger generation, the 2008 election had the largest young voter numbers ever. Popular campaigns such as “Vote or Die” and “Smackdown Your Vote!” quickly spread through the site [1]. However, the negative aspect of this is that trashing on the politician running for office also quickly spread. In some cases, this overshadowed anything and everything the individual was able to accomplish throughout their career.
The Pros of New Media in Politics
The use of new media in the political environment has been controversial. There are several reasons why new media should be used in politics. Some pros of new media in politics are:
- 1. New media allow political figures to communicate to large groups of people.
- 2. New media gives the people the ability to give their opinions on political figures. For example the famous [- Obama Girl] made a YouTube video about her crush Barack Obama.
- 3. It is much less expensive to use new media than traditional media which allows political figures with the inadequate funds to advertise themselves more often.
- 4. It also allows political figures to communicate with specific groups of people. For example President Obama when he was senator was able to use Linkedin to ask "How can the next president better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?" [- When Web 2.0 meets Politics].
-- [- Noel Salcedo]
The Cons of New Media in Politics
Though there are many pros for using new media in the political environment new media have also affected politics negatively. Some cons of new media in politics are:
- 1. New media allows users to not fully represent political figures so that their candidate choice get more votes.
- 2. Users of new media could post false information about political figures or political agendas.
- 3. Because new media uses the internet and the internet is global politics in one country could have an affect on politics in another country.
- 4. Political figures' personal lives are on display each time scandal is revealed.[Eliot Spitzer]
-- [- Noel Salcedo]
Source
- ↑ Stelter, Brian. "Now on YouTube, Local News." The New York Times 2 Aug. 2009. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/business/media/03youtube.html?_r=1>.
