The Cutting Edge of Politics
The world wide web has been making earth shattering changes in politics. This year's campaigns are using it in ways not even imagined three years ago when the revolution began. YouTube's influence can be seen in the video about tax cuts I just posted. Campaigns are shooting videos and uploading them to their websites and video sites, affecting the electorate in ways that are leveling the field.
It doesn't necessarily take milions of dollars to reach thousands of voters. A well designed webiste, camcorder and video editing software can get a message on the internet. I watched the advent of this in early 2004 as I watched the Dean for America campaign revolutionize technology in politics. It's been very interesting to watch and be involved in.
After Howard's failure in early 2004 we took tools like MeetUp and Yahoo Groups and applied them to the Kerry/Edwards campaign. Or tried to. Many of the old pols refused to embrace the new technology. Heck some still do. Some still can't even do email and sign up sheets (Berks County especially). The influence of blogs rose in 2003 along with the Dean campaign. Having a blog on your website (with frequent updates) means voters and supporters are constantly visiting your website. This increases interaction which also increases their involvement. The more involved you get your volunteers the more success you have as a campaign. They're also more likely to contribute and contribute regularly.
The YouTube phenomenon has eclipsed most anything I've seen since blogs. Being able to post video clips straight to your blog is fantastic. Though I may view 8-10 clips for each one I put on the blog they can explain an issue or make a point much better and with more effect than I can in a long written document. They're also more fun to watch than an article is to read. The downside is they take a lot longer to produce. For that I thank those who take the time to create these pieces.
The other revolutionary aspect is how anyone can make a clip and upload it to YouTube, Google Video or blogs. Anyone can affect other voters and other campaigns. All you need do is visit a campaign stop with your camcorder and hit the record button. Perhaps you'll catch George Allen in his "macaca" moment. Ned Lamont's supporters caught some interesting video of Lieberman's supporters in the Connecticut primary and embarrassed them.
What's next for the technology side? Who knows? Maybe doing live webcamming of events using wifi. We have to wait and see. In any case campaigns MUST be on top of the technology wave so as to maximize its resources. Using these web based strategies is low cost and high impact. It's a way to reach many voters at a low cost, with significant impact. What's more, if you do it right it can bring in much more money than it costs.
It doesn't necessarily take milions of dollars to reach thousands of voters. A well designed webiste, camcorder and video editing software can get a message on the internet. I watched the advent of this in early 2004 as I watched the Dean for America campaign revolutionize technology in politics. It's been very interesting to watch and be involved in.
After Howard's failure in early 2004 we took tools like MeetUp and Yahoo Groups and applied them to the Kerry/Edwards campaign. Or tried to. Many of the old pols refused to embrace the new technology. Heck some still do. Some still can't even do email and sign up sheets (Berks County especially). The influence of blogs rose in 2003 along with the Dean campaign. Having a blog on your website (with frequent updates) means voters and supporters are constantly visiting your website. This increases interaction which also increases their involvement. The more involved you get your volunteers the more success you have as a campaign. They're also more likely to contribute and contribute regularly.
The YouTube phenomenon has eclipsed most anything I've seen since blogs. Being able to post video clips straight to your blog is fantastic. Though I may view 8-10 clips for each one I put on the blog they can explain an issue or make a point much better and with more effect than I can in a long written document. They're also more fun to watch than an article is to read. The downside is they take a lot longer to produce. For that I thank those who take the time to create these pieces.
The other revolutionary aspect is how anyone can make a clip and upload it to YouTube, Google Video or blogs. Anyone can affect other voters and other campaigns. All you need do is visit a campaign stop with your camcorder and hit the record button. Perhaps you'll catch George Allen in his "macaca" moment. Ned Lamont's supporters caught some interesting video of Lieberman's supporters in the Connecticut primary and embarrassed them.
What's next for the technology side? Who knows? Maybe doing live webcamming of events using wifi. We have to wait and see. In any case campaigns MUST be on top of the technology wave so as to maximize its resources. Using these web based strategies is low cost and high impact. It's a way to reach many voters at a low cost, with significant impact. What's more, if you do it right it can bring in much more money than it costs.
posted by PA progressive @ Monday, September 18, 2006
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