Social Media in Campaigns

Everyone seems to be catching on to the social media phenomenon. I’ve already discussed how Hollywood and entrepreneurs utilize it, but politicians are in the mix now, too. An article I read from Toronto, Canada stated that they are just now breaking into it, but the benefits have not beat out the benefits from traditional methods, such as door-to-door. A major problem with their methods, though, is that many politicians are simply posting a Tweet or making an announcement, instead of actually engaging followers. Social media analysts of this campaign also said that the social media polls don’t translate over to the real polls because social media represents only a specific group of people, and they do not reach out to different groups.

I believe that in the near future, social media will definitely have a bigger impact on voters and elections. Even if an election candidate uses only the Facebook platform, it would be so easy to invite all kinds of people to events or post pictures of yourself helping out in the community. We’ve already learned that more and more people are getting their news from social media, so why not put yourself in the direct view of voters? This would be a great way to get younger people to be politically active.

Personally, I change the TV/radio channel anytime an election commercial comes on. It seems like all they do is bash the opposing candidate, which gives me no information about how they are actually going to help my community. With social media, I would have the opportunity to ask questions and get to know the candidate from the comfort of my own home, without having to go to a press conference or debate, which I would probably not do. I think social media can provide an outlet that will help take the “annoying” out of campaigning. Thoughts??