Friday, March 21, 2008 . 5:47 AM
Power, change, and the internet
The power and limitations of Internet for political campaigning
politics. pol·i·tics \ˈpä-lə-ˌtiks\noun
1. power relations wherever they exist, including in everyday life
2. The distribution of power within a society; the forces behind a society-human or divine
Politics, as shown by the above definitions, is all about power. The Internet is constantly changing the rules of politics. It has created is a "flat" virtual space where hierarchy does not exist and power is decentralized - the epitome of democracy. Thus, people in power are trying to use and control this medium to suit their needs. The symbiotic relationship between "power" and Web2.0 is one of core features of the information revolution.
Yet, political campaigning in real life takes on another definition, in itself. Politics, traditionally speaking, is the science or art of government, the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy, the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government. So with what it has done to traditional conceptions of power, does Web2.0 affect political campaigning? Of course, it does.
In the US, no other word than "change" can accurately describe everything happening in the political scene. Not only are the candidates set to become pioneers in the history of US presidency (either a black or a female president), the entire world is engaged in one country's elections. Furthermore, the coverage of the primaries and proceedings is unprecedented. Hundreds of Youtube videos attempt polarise Internet users to either support or denounce a candidate, with exposés (like the Hillary Clinton one - click here) and opinionated "vLogs". Visually appealing, grassroots videos like the Obama Girl sensation will no doubt have an impact. (At least, on the male viewers :))
A sidenote: By the way, the Obama Girl has brought a new dimension to the traditional process of politcal campaigning: making politics "sexy". What more incentive for people to "get out and vote"? A sure-fire method to cure voter apathy? I certainly think so...
Like we got to know from our lesson, research has shown that 50 million Americans go to the Internet for news every day, compared to 27 million people in March 2004. The bottom line is... according to me... political campaigning certainly works in reaching a wide audience and has proven to act as a great fundraising tool. However, the dangerous part of it is it shifts the balance of power from the political campaigners to the people themselves. Which means unauthorised opinions with great power and influence. Which leads me to discuss about the...
Limitations of the internet as a political campaigning tool
According to a study done by the Bigivings group, the Internet has many limitations when it comes to political campaigning, in the US alone. First off, it is important to remember the demographics of the candidates running for office and the limitations of the campaigns’ themselves. Candidates are extremely
busy, and older Americans are unlikely to have the time or inclination to personally participate in the blogosphere. For many campaigns, having a blog just doesn’t make strategic sense. Many campaigns also have extremely limited resources, and are hesitant to devote these resources to an activity like blogging.
Second, there is a perception among many political consultants and candidates that blogging is a risky strategy. Candidates worry that by fully participating in the blogosphere, they will be dragged further to the left or to the right (politically speaking). Bloggers are typically the most active and ideological of Americans, so there is a fear by some that reaching out to these groups may turn away moderate voters.
