Barack Obama is being hailed as the first US presidential nominee to extensively and efficiently utilize new media. President Obama and his campaign team undoubtedly revolutionized the relationship between digital technology and political communication. However, he is certainly not the first American politician to credit the internet as a key component of a winning campaign strategy.
Over a decade ago, long before the term ‘new media’ even existed, former pro-wrestler Jesse Ventura entered the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial race. Entering as an ‘independent’, which usually spells instantaneously death in US politics; he was pitted against Republican and Democratic candidates, both of whom were well funded.
Ventura pioneered a guerrilla email campaign, which enabled him to reach out to young voters, organize rallies and educate the public on how to register to vote. Although overwhelmingly the underdog, Ventura went on to win the race and has cited his use of the internet as critical to his victory. After his election, he continued to have an online presence; hosting an official governor site and a more personalized page for his constituents.
Obama has certainly moved online political communication from Ventura’s rudimentary use of email and static web pages to a fully interactive interchange between his team and his various stakeholders.
References
BBC (2001). Internet lessons from US elections. [online] Available from: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1372315.stm> [Accessed 24 February 2009]
CNN (1999). Make electronic democracy work with email. [online] Available from: <http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9908/04/edemocracy.idg/> [Accessed 24 February 2009]
No comments:
Post a Comment