It has been continuously discussed,
and it is a known fact, that the 2008 Obama Campaign utilized social media and
the internet more effectively than the other candidates during this campaign
and election. However, the extent that
this was effective was unknown to me until this moment.
The Obama Campaign’s use of MyBO
seemed to be effective because of the ability to make tasks simple for
volunteers and supporters. From
analyzing which are the most active registrants, to sending specifically
tailored tasks to volunteers, this campaign was able to do focused movements
that improved his chances of getting elected drastically. It is the ‘focused’ aspect that is most
important, in my opinion. The article
contrasted the proper utilization of social media between the Obama Campaign
and all the other campaigns, and the difference was outstanding. While the Obama Campaign made social media
outreach part of its center strategy- while I’m not sure how comprising of
campaign resources social media strategies were, they were definitely very
important and in the center of the campaign- from the very beginning,
campaign’s like those of Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain did not
utilize social media as effectively and efficiently as possible. According to the article, the most comparable
social media utilization was John McCain’s, through his creation of
McCainSpace. However, his page was
unresponsive, limiting in the access to the population it had and it didn’t
have the interactivity the MyBO had. I
think, partially, this was also because of the demographic Obama was targeting,
as opposed to the older demographics all the campaigns were targeting. Because historically the younger populations
don’t go out and vote at the levels older populations do, it makes sense that
the other candidates didn’t spend as many resources as the Obama Campaign.
Aside from MyBO, Obama’s use of
MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter also surpassed the hits and responses from all
the other campaigns. In a matter of a
little over a year, Obama’s Facebook supporters increased from approximately
100,000 to approximately 1.25 million supporters, compared to barely 250,000
Facebook supporters for John McCain by July 30, 2008. Aside from the efficient use of social media,
and the campaign’s ability to quickly and succinctly send information out, a
lot of this also had to do with the appeal Obama had during the 2008
campaign. Had his appeal not been as
strong- had his message been different or his delivery and persona been
different- I don’t think the most effective and thought out social media
strategies would have had the impact the actually had.
Considering all of this, it will be interesting to continue
seeing how Obama’s focus of social media and the internet affects this election
cycle- especially since Obama is not running.
The effect he had on campaigning will have a strong lasting impact on
campaigns in the long run.
The Obama campaign definitely changed how many viewed the use of online services. It opened people's eyes to see how politics could be linked with the internet to create a space for supporters to communicate. I, too, wasn't aware of how much of an impact that Obama's website had on his success. I think that it is due to the fact that I wasn't of age to vote during that time and so, I really didn't pay much attention to the resources that Obama was setting forward for his potential voters. A point that you made in this post that really stood out to me was the fact that you mentioned that Obama's targeted demographic could have been the difference that made McCain's website less appealing. Obama was really targeting the younger, new voters with his participation in social media, but I also think that he was aware that more and more adults are starting to assimilate to live online. By having both young and old voters under one common social platform, Obama was able to reach out both of them at the same exact time. I agree that Obama had a strong message that he was able to present to the public with his ability to explain his ideas effortlessly. I think that you made a good point by saying that it is going to be interesting to see how the internet will help the election this year. With the pavement that Obama has already laid out, I hope that the candidates create social platforms. As a new generation of voters try to get information, it will make it easier on them too. Overall, Obama has changed how elections, supporters, and candidates look to the internet to have a strong political community.
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