Politicians are always looking for innovative avenues to advertise and promote new campaigns. Social media areas such as YouTube, Facebook and My Space have become the modern medium for communicating and advertising products to their target audience. As of now these social mediums have begun to influence our political landscape with several parties utilizing these programs to not only reach a larger audience but also a younger audience as well.So the question is... is YouTube an affective medium for political campaigns?
John Edwards...
The first person to ever announce his candidacy for US president was John Edwards who announced his candidacy via his website www.johnedwards.com. He posted an online video which was unique in a few ways because for the first time in political history a major presidential competitor didn’t announce it through the edited lens of the media or one to one with an anchor he announced it online and unedited. This was a brave move.
The reason behind John Edwards decision to announce through video was to talk directly to the people online however this proved to be the wrong decision with many people not viewing Edwards online announcement, the fact that he elected online was seen to be a mistake.
So is it a good idea posting electoral campaigns online? Is it a more effective or a mistake?
Barack Obama...
A positive online campaign is current very popular President Barack Obama’s website MyBarackObama.com. The Obama campaign received a tremendous amount of credit from the media and online political communities for building perhaps the most sophisticated and professional campaign tool ever seen in political history and definitely paid off with many accessing the site and in turn voting Obama for President.
Kevin Rudd...
Prime Minister hopeful Kevin Rudd launched his ‘Kevin 07’ campaign by using online technologies to boost his campaign. Rudd produced a website Kevin 07 which had updated blog entries about the campaign, direct supporters to join Rudd’s MySpace and Facebook networks as well as offering wallpapers and other downloads for his supporters. Rudd’s online campaign was successful with over 5,000 supporters joining his network.
So what are the pros and cons of social mediums such as YouTube?
There are many risks associated with using online tools such as Edwards online campaign where his target audience did not log on to view his campaign which may have concluded to less votes. As well as Edwards there is a large opportunity for people to sabotage the political campaign which in turn can have a negative impact. However there are many positive aspects for online campaigns such as reaching a much wider younger audiences, being eco efficient and getting the campaigns goals and objectives across more quicker.
Is it possible that YouTube will help to decide the next leader for both the United States and Australia...?
Are social mediums such as YouTube the right avenue to take when promoting an upcoming political campaign? I’ll let you decide...
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