Connect, politic, ditto: the Politics of YouTube
Video powerhouse YouTube.com and other websites are reshaping politics, minds, and the way that elections are run.
Paul R. Nelson created a campaign ad so negative, even members of the Republican congressional candidate’s party demanded that he apologize to his opponent. The ad, which claims Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) cares more about the sex habits of teenage girls than the lives of American soldiers, is so provocative, media outlets refuse to air it.
Nelson has responded by doing what many candidates do to boost their campaign - log onto the Internet. With a few mouse clicks and a brazen outlook, a Nelson campaign worker uploaded the controversial campaign spot to YouTube.com and illustrated how rapidly the Internet is transforming the democratic process.
“It’s becoming the crux of everything going on right now,” said Sree Sreenivasan, dean of students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, in a telephone interview. “It’s made a big difference in elections [and how] people access information or participate in democracy.”
The Internet has revolutionized virtually every aspect of life. People communicate differently, spend less time using traditional media and purchase items without ever stepping foot inside a store. If people can buy Star Wars memorabilia on eBay while still wearing their Luke Skywalker pajamas, it makes sense that even the world of politics would adapt to take advantage of new technology.
More than 100,000 YouTube users have seen Nelson’s campaign spots attacking Congressman Kind, a feat that would typically cost thousands of dollars in airtime on television or radio. Utilizing this low-cost, high return strategy has become a nationwide standard.
“The more exposure a candidate has, the greater his impact is going to be,” said Matt Thornton, Internet director for the Jim Davis Florida gubernatorial campaign. “With so many people getting their information from the Internet, it just makes sense to use it as much as you can.”
Dr. Girish J. Gulati, a political communications specialist at Bentley College, validates Thornton’s claim.
“It’s sort of the expected thing to do,” Gulati said in a telephone interview. “In the past, it was a way for candidates with fewer resources to get themselves known. Now you see about 90 percent of U.S. Senate candidates online and House candidates are in the mid-80’s.”
The desire for exposure led the Davis campaign to post ads on YouTube and target young people at social-networking websites Facebook.com and MySpace.com. Thornton said Internet efforts have improved the way young voters respond to Davis, whose MySpace profile is the second-most popular among aspiring governors.
The only person with a larger MySpace presence is Kinky Friedman, a self-professed cowboy running for governor in Texas. Friedman’s cigar-wielding, rogue politician appearance has earned the former musician’s profile more than 33,000 friends. With his cowboy hat and eclectic friends list that includes both music legend Willie Nelson and Tito’s Vodka, Friedman is using MySpace to appeal to young voters, recruit volunteers and increase his visibility.
“MySpace is a great way to reach non-traditional voters in a low-cost way,” Freidman campaign worker Blake Rocap said in a telephone interview. “The Internet kind of equalizes things and allows you to reach everyone without following the traditional campaign tool book.”
Despite the apparent strengths of virtual campaigning, the evolving trend’s effectiveness is uncertain. Miami-based political consultant Juan D’Arcy has worked with several candidates in recent years, and he has found that online campaigning is all bytes and no bite.
“The power of the Internet just isn’t where it could be yet,” D’Arcy said. “Young people don’t typically vote because they don’t care now. In 20 or 30 years, more of them will start voting and they’ll probably still be tech-savvy, so the Internet is going to be huge then.”
Gulati also places little emphasis on the immediate impact of Internet politics, but he sees a promising future for it.
“From a candidate’s perspective, Facebook won’t have much impact on the upcoming election,” Gulati says. “But from a user’s perspective, it may have a long term impact in that it helps them get interested in politics and see politicians in a human, down-to-Earth kind of way.
“It makes them feel like they’re part of a community centered on a particular candidate or issue. Seeing their friends involved may even inspire them to vote and become involved.”
In the meantime, candidates are still banking on the Internet because of its fundraising capabilities. Friedman has a series of TV ads that feature him sharing southern proverbs in his gentle twang, but Texans probably wouldn’t see the independent candidate on their screens were in not for the web. According to campaign workers, more than half of his funding to run the spots has come from online donations.
Howard Dean helped set a gold standard for Internet campaigns when he sought the 2004 Democratic nomination for president. Though Dean failed to secure the nomination, the former Governor of Vermont raised eyebrows because of his ability to raise millions of dollars through online marketing.
“We’ve seen the Internet transform elections since 2004,” Gulati said. “It’s not just the grassroots [campaign] where you’re knocking on doors asking for money and support. It’s building a network or community and then taping into it.”
The financial and persuasive power of the Internet has led some campaign works to predict that it will have an even bigger influence on future elections.
“People are still trying to figure out how to use Internet technology because unlike television, it’s a rapidly-changing format,” Thornton said. “But I think just like television did when it was first introduced, the Internet is going to drastically change the face of modern political campaigns.”
Paul R. Nelson created a campaign ad so negative, even members of the Republican congressional candidate’s party demanded that he apologize to his opponent. The ad, which claims Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) cares more about the sex habits of teenage girls than the lives of American soldiers, is so provocative, media outlets refuse to air it.Nelson has responded by doing what many candidates do to boost their campaign - log onto the Internet. With a few mouse clicks and a brazen outlook, a Nelson campaign worker uploaded the controversial campaign spot to YouTube.com and illustrated how rapidly the Internet is transforming the democratic process.
“It’s becoming the crux of everything going on right now,” said Sree Sreenivasan, dean of students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, in a telephone interview. “It’s made a big difference in elections [and how] people access information or participate in democracy.”
The Internet has revolutionized virtually every aspect of life. People communicate differently, spend less time using traditional media and purchase items without ever stepping foot inside a store. If people can buy Star Wars memorabilia on eBay while still wearing their Luke Skywalker pajamas, it makes sense that even the world of politics would adapt to take advantage of new technology.
More than 100,000 YouTube users have seen Nelson’s campaign spots attacking Congressman Kind, a feat that would typically cost thousands of dollars in airtime on television or radio. Utilizing this low-cost, high return strategy has become a nationwide standard.
“The more exposure a candidate has, the greater his impact is going to be,” said Matt Thornton, Internet director for the Jim Davis Florida gubernatorial campaign. “With so many people getting their information from the Internet, it just makes sense to use it as much as you can.”
Dr. Girish J. Gulati, a political communications specialist at Bentley College, validates Thornton’s claim.
“It’s sort of the expected thing to do,” Gulati said in a telephone interview. “In the past, it was a way for candidates with fewer resources to get themselves known. Now you see about 90 percent of U.S. Senate candidates online and House candidates are in the mid-80’s.”
The desire for exposure led the Davis campaign to post ads on YouTube and target young people at social-networking websites Facebook.com and MySpace.com. Thornton said Internet efforts have improved the way young voters respond to Davis, whose MySpace profile is the second-most popular among aspiring governors.
The only person with a larger MySpace presence is Kinky Friedman, a self-professed cowboy running for governor in Texas. Friedman’s cigar-wielding, rogue politician appearance has earned the former musician’s profile more than 33,000 friends. With his cowboy hat and eclectic friends list that includes both music legend Willie Nelson and Tito’s Vodka, Friedman is using MySpace to appeal to young voters, recruit volunteers and increase his visibility.
“MySpace is a great way to reach non-traditional voters in a low-cost way,” Freidman campaign worker Blake Rocap said in a telephone interview. “The Internet kind of equalizes things and allows you to reach everyone without following the traditional campaign tool book.”
Despite the apparent strengths of virtual campaigning, the evolving trend’s effectiveness is uncertain. Miami-based political consultant Juan D’Arcy has worked with several candidates in recent years, and he has found that online campaigning is all bytes and no bite.“The power of the Internet just isn’t where it could be yet,” D’Arcy said. “Young people don’t typically vote because they don’t care now. In 20 or 30 years, more of them will start voting and they’ll probably still be tech-savvy, so the Internet is going to be huge then.”
Gulati also places little emphasis on the immediate impact of Internet politics, but he sees a promising future for it.
“From a candidate’s perspective, Facebook won’t have much impact on the upcoming election,” Gulati says. “But from a user’s perspective, it may have a long term impact in that it helps them get interested in politics and see politicians in a human, down-to-Earth kind of way.
“It makes them feel like they’re part of a community centered on a particular candidate or issue. Seeing their friends involved may even inspire them to vote and become involved.”
In the meantime, candidates are still banking on the Internet because of its fundraising capabilities. Friedman has a series of TV ads that feature him sharing southern proverbs in his gentle twang, but Texans probably wouldn’t see the independent candidate on their screens were in not for the web. According to campaign workers, more than half of his funding to run the spots has come from online donations.
Howard Dean helped set a gold standard for Internet campaigns when he sought the 2004 Democratic nomination for president. Though Dean failed to secure the nomination, the former Governor of Vermont raised eyebrows because of his ability to raise millions of dollars through online marketing.
“We’ve seen the Internet transform elections since 2004,” Gulati said. “It’s not just the grassroots [campaign] where you’re knocking on doors asking for money and support. It’s building a network or community and then taping into it.”
The financial and persuasive power of the Internet has led some campaign works to predict that it will have an even bigger influence on future elections.
“People are still trying to figure out how to use Internet technology because unlike television, it’s a rapidly-changing format,” Thornton said. “But I think just like television did when it was first introduced, the Internet is going to drastically change the face of modern political campaigns.”
posted by Andrew | 4:39 PM
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