#Politics #Social Media #Yes We Can

With the number of young people on social media it would be wrong for a politician to not use social media to connect & campaign, it would be like say posting a Christmas card with out an address on the envelope, which unfortunately my dear husband did a couple weeks ago..

Although, it’s the way social media is used in politics that may sway one young voter to the next. 

Selfies anyone.. 

www.news.com.au

www.theconversation.com

I myself was amused and intrigued every time I came across a Face Book post or watched a story on tv about Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott’s social media campaigning efforts this year.   

                                 

Selfies, family pictures, personal conversations about their animals and status updates…Did it all contribute to my final vote? Perhaps it did.

In a study found by the Pew Foundation it was found that the American parties used social media differently, where Republicans took more positions on Twitter as opposed to Democrats taking more positions on Face book. 

However overall, Twitter was the most used social media platform to convey a message as Sherri R Greenberg discusses in this study link below..   

Congress & Social Media 

www.urbanvox.net

Once again Barrack Obama had clearly dominated popularity on social media during the most recent election between himself and Romney by having more tweets, facebook posts and general engagement than his competitor. 

The article below discusses how he did it. 

How Obama Won the Social Media Political Battle.

www.mprcentre.org

Amateur social media uploads on you tube from everyday citizens can have a big impact on political candidates, especially if they go viral causing positive and negative effects on their image. The barrack roll is an example of one that worked well for Obama as it was positive and generally fun.   

On the other hand Kevin Rudd had a down fall when footage of him self swearing, ranting and showing general rudeness  (see you tube video) “ Kevin is a Happy Little Vegemite” was leaked and uploaded to you tube by an anonymous person which could have been a likely attempt at sabotage from the opposing party. 

This clip also went viral and would be one that Kevin Rudd would most likely want you to forget.

I think electioning and social media will only grow in the future, with strategies becoming more polished and campaigns trying harder to connect with people without being too scripted, and with new technologies always popping up there will forever be a new social media platform for people especially young voters to connect via.

www.ronsela.com

See you at my next blog.. Wikileaks.

Daniela

References & Further Reading 

Johnson, Dennis W, Campaigning for President 2008: Strategy and Tactics, New Voices and New Techniques. The Online Revolution, Taylor and Francis.

Sherri R. Greenberg, Lyndon B. Johnson 2012, School of Public affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, Congress and Social Media, page 12.

Shirky C, 2011, The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, The Public Sphere, and Political Change. Foreign Affairs, Published by the Council on Foreign Affairs.