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The Web and the 2008 Presidential Race |
Thursday, 12 April 2007
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A lot of people have expressed
that there is too much buzz on the upcoming 2008 presidential race. They are
saying that since the election is more than a year away, there is no need to be
excited. However, it is clear that more and more people are starting to become
involved in the election away because of the advances in modern technology. Modern technology and the World-Wide-Web are changing the way presidential campaigns raise money, organize their networks of volunteers and engage in public debate. For instance, the candidates can now spread their campaign message and reach out to voters through their personal campaign websites. The candidates also have more opportunity to bypass the mass media and forge a deeper, more personal relationship through e-mail, Web video, online chats and podcasts. The wide-open forum of the Internet and related technologies create the potential for a more wide-ranging political dialogue. More than 3,000 groups have
formed on Barack Obama's site a week after he announced his presidential
campaign and the launching of his website. These groups ranged from the Iowa
Union Members for Obama and New Hampshire Firefighters for Barack to the Hip
Hop for Obama. More than 4,000 people have also started blogs on the site and
more than 3,000 have set up personal fundraising web pages. Of course, Obama's site is just
one of the brazen attempts to use the power of Web-based social networking to
channel a surge of enthusiasm and a flood of money into a broad-based political
movement. For instance, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton signaled the start of the
new campaign era by announcing the launching of her presidential exploratory
committees through a web video. Clinton's
campaign staff then followed it up with a series of highly publicized video Web
chats. She also used non-political Internet forums such as Yahoo! Answers to
reach reached out to potential supporters. In fact, a question that solicited
ideas to improve the health-care system has already has drawn more than 38,000
responses. However, the Internet did not always
offer something positive for the candidates. Attacks on the candidates can come
from many more directions because the mass media no longer an arbiter. For
instance, the release of the Hillary 1984 video caused quite an uproar just a
few weeks ago. The video has been viewed by more than three million people,
illustrating the potential of using the Internet for political purposes. However, many political
professionals say Internet communications still have not shown much power to
sway undecided voters. For example, the result of the recent election 2008
polls show that the Hillary 1984 video did make much of an impact.
Nevertheless, the Web already has proven itself as a fundraising force and that
capacity has only increased with the expansion of broadband access. For
instance, Obama was able to raise $25 million largely through online
contributions. The Internet also provides a powerful means to strengthen
support once someone has taken an interest in a candidate. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
Joem writes to encourage people to participate in the 2008 presidential race. He hopes that his work will create awareness and participation in the election through articles that feature election news, recent election 2008 polls, and other information about the presidential race and its candidates found on http://www.isupportthismessage.com
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