The New Political Wheel

Kristen Luca

With the expansion of online social media, politics and political campaigning may be developing a new face on the Internet.

Social media services like Twitter and Facebook allow users to quickly get messages out to large groups of people, and are quickly gaining in popularity. According to a recent New York Times article, the tracking firm comScore has measured Twitter’s traffic at 54 million visitors a month. For politicians and political candidates who devote much energy to getting their names and messages out to their constituents, these Web sites might hold potential.

Samantha Jose, communications director for the Young Democrats at the University of Georgia, said that the Democratic party has already taken advantage of the possibilities social media offers. She referenced President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and his use of Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about his platforms on issues and updates about events.

Jose also thought the Democratic party takes more advantage of social media services than does the Republican party. “I’d like to think we’re a little bit quicker on the uptake,” she said.

Matthew Ralston, PR Director for UGA’s College Republicans, said that he thought the Republican party as a whole was not using social media as much as the Democratic party. Ralston said he at the moment few Republicans were utilizing the services and others were behind.

“It’s like the wheel has just come out of the sky for them,” Ralston said.

However, he also thought that in the future more in the party would come to use the services to get their messages out. He pointed to the low cost of the services and their ability to reach many people in just a few clicks.

But social media is not useful only to campaigning politicians. In June, Reuters reported that the U.S. State Department had asked Twitter to delay an upgrade that would have shut down the service during the daytime in Iran. Iranians protesting the presidential election results were using Twitter to speak with each other and get past blocks on communication set up by the Iranian government.

At a time when options were severely restricted, Iranians turned to the Internet and social media sites to broadcast their thoughts and political movements. The U.S. government recognized the importance of Twitter to the situation in Iran and interceded with the company to minimize the inconvenience to those in Iran.

Private citizens, more traditionally associated with the expansion of social media, have the opportunity to use the technology not only as an audience but as active participants. Samantha Jose, of the Young Democrats, thinks that the greatest advantage in using social media to spread political ideas is that citizens are more informed.

The nature of the Internet also allows for communication and debate in a way that more traditional forms of media, like print and cable, do not. “Social media allows for debate to be way more instantaneous,” Jose said.

She added that on the Internet, there is no filter for information. Access to publishing software on the Web is cheap and often free, allowing anyone with a connection to upload their thoughts and hold a conversation. However, Jose thinks that the overall benefits of using social media outweigh the risk of encountering less substantial or non-credible information.

Users can find other benefits to having politicians on Facebook and Twitter, too. Ben Clark, a UGA student and member of the Young Democrats, says that he ‘friended’ several politicians on Facebook during the 2008 election season. Including President Barack Obama, he also follows Sen. Chris Dodd and former Sen. John Edwards.

Having his Facebook accounts associated with the politicians’, though, is not entirely to read through their updates and messages. “During the election,” Clark said, “I wanted everyone to know who I supported.”

Politicians are not the only ones who can send political messages through social media.