Web Based Communication, Essay Example

Impact of Web based Communication on Elections and Political Policy Making

U.S. President Barack Obama’s win in 2008 presidential election will go down in history as the first election to be influenced by social media. Prior to the elections, Obama had a clear advantage over his rival U.S. Senator John McCain and exit polls showed that Obama had the support of 70 percent of the Americans under the age 25, the highest percentage since the start of the exit polls in 1976. This was the first election in which candidate connected directly with American voters through online social networking websites (Fraser and Dutta).

The real impact of web based communication on elections and political policy making is due to the fact that internet allows two way communication between political candidates and the public. The political candidates have used media for centuries now but no other medium allowed the public to directly communicate with the political candidates like internet does. The experience of German political parties show that web based communication has the ability to influence public opinion only when it gives voice to the public to express themselves. Markus Beckedahl who is regarded as one of the German pioneers of political internet communication called the websites of German political parties as ineffective at a political camp in Berlin in May 2009. Mr. Beckedahl declared that all the websites seemed to be social places for party members and had little to offer to outsiders. Patrick Braukmann, a German freelance political editor advises political parties that internet as an information platform doesn’t work. He adds that social media are oriented to dialogue and participation and the accustomed one-way communication of the parties is incapable of motivating anyone to become politically engaged. Braukmann gives Obama’s example that even when a group of Internet users opposed a particular law, Obama sought a dialogue, defended his view and finally succeeded in selling his plan to the users (Goethe Institut).

Another benefit of web based communications for politicians is to be where their supporters are. Due to time and financial restraints, it would not be possible for a political candidate to meet with every supporter and support groups. Web doesn’t only facilitate communication but also provides cheap and effective tools for collecting donations as well as marketing. President Obama had 3 million online donors and encouraged his supporters to create content many of which went viral (Brooks). Supporters used to distribute posters and hold support campaigns in the pre-internet age but their ability to spread message would be nowhere near the penetration ability of online campaigns and viral messages.

Another way web based communication abilities impact elections and public policies is by providing the voters an ability to influence those beyond their immediate household. Pew Internet & American Life Project found that during November 2010 elections in the U.S., 11% of online adults discovered through a social networking site who their friends voted for. 8% posted political content on Twitter or a social networking site and 7% of online adults started or joined a political group on a social networking site (Smith). Web based communication tools are also emerging as a reliable indicator of public opinion which could provide hints to political candidates regarding the effectiveness of the campaigns. Facebook reported that during the November 2010 elections, 74% of the candidates with the most fans won in one of the hotly contested races for house seat and similarly, 81% with more fans won one of the hotly contested Senate races.

Looking at the growing influence of web based communication tools which probably also signals the emergence of public journalism, one may argue that future elections will not be won without effective web communications strategy. Similarly, web based communication tools also provide valuable opportunities for political candidates to sell their vision directly to the public and tilt public support in their favor.

References

Brooks, Rich. What Businesses Can Learn from Barack Obama’s Social Media Strategy. 19 January 2009. 22 July 2011 <http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/rich-brooks/social-media-strategies-small-business/what-businesses-can-learn-barack-obamas-soci>.

Fraser, Matthew and Soumitra Dutta. Barack Obama and the Facebook Election. 19 November 2008. 22 July 2011 <http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/11/19/barack-obama-and-the-facebook-election>.

Goethe Institut. In Obama’s Online Footsteps: Web Election Campaigns in Germany. 22 July 2011 <http://www.goethe.de/wis/med/idm/mpl/en4848323.htm>.

Smith, Aaron. Twitter and Social Networking in the 2010 Midterm Elections. 27 January 2011. 22 July 2011 <http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1871/internet-politics-facebook-twitter-2010-midterm-elections-campaign>.