Effects of the Internet on US Presidential Elections Essay

November 4, 2008 marked a monumental moment in United States history. American presidential elections were revolutionized because of the 2008 presidential election between democratic candidate Barack Obama and republican candidate John McCain. After eight years, President George W. Bush., Americans were waiting for, what would be the key word of this election - change. The U.S. had the opportunity to witness history with either the first African-American president or first female vice president. It was a full year of pricey campaigning, nationally broadcasted debates, and party strategies, media controversies involving candidates and their families. It also was a year where America realized how the Internet can affect an election. In June

This campaign season, I worked for Bruce Davis. Bruce Davis was the Democratic candidate chosen in the primary to run for House of Representatives in the Thirteen District in North Carolina. This campaign season was not a traditional one in comparison to what I’ve studied of past campaign’s. Our world has changed with the creation of social media and campaign’s have changed with it. In our campaign we had to look harder to find a proper strategy for using social media to are advantage and think outside the box. Bruce Davis chose to give his intern’s and his staff free reign to come up with ideas to move our campaign into modern times. These ideas will be discussed throughout this paper. I will discuss my personal experience, which was an

In the Youth Survey conducted by Project Vote Smart, respondents aged 18-24 chose the World Wide Web as their most useful information source (“General Population”). McCain is utilizing the power of the Internet to build mailing lists, solicit contributions and to attract young voters, many of whom are “more acquainted with computer networks than political networks” (Sullivan, “Virtual”). The Internet has proved to be an important organizing tool in McCain’s campaign. Young people interested in becoming involved in his campaign will find a web site that devotes an entire page to each youth organization in each state. Pages consist of upcoming events, biographical information, photographs, links and contact information, putting various aspects of McCain’s campaign at the very technologically advanced fingertips of America’s youth (“Students 4 Dole”). Each page varies; some simply list contact information, while others have inspirational letters from McCain supporters and extravagant graphics like waving state flags. “Virtual” volunteers assist electronically, emailing everything from

Advertisements surround every American; whether it be a TV commercial for car, or a billboard for a resort “10 miles ahead.” American society has adapted to a society that sends messages to gain trust in products based on how it is advertised. Similar to U.S.’ capitalist society, the political system has become dependent on advertisements to instill trust in the people for candidates. President Franklin D. Roosevelt built his presidency on informing the public on his political strategies through the use of public radio (Walsh). In the 1952 presidential race, Dwight Eisenhower promoted his campaign by creating political advertisements on TV (Fowler, Franz, Ridout). Since then, not only have radio and TV advertisements been a defining aspect of presidential elections, but also, social media, a more modern avenue for politicians. This has become one of the most effective campaigning strategies in modern day elections. President Obama’s 2008 presidential race is one of the most significant examples. Obama made history by taking advantage of the social media outlet and successfully reaching audiences who previously were not targeted by the previous standard tactics. Historically, Presidential candidates have gained dependence on using advertisements and social media to promote their platform and qualifications of becoming president. Today, there is an increasing necessity to master these campaign strategies in order to communicate effectively with the American citizens.

Internet is a double-edged sword. On one side that candidate is able to increase the chance to get more votes, on the other hand the risks have to be taken by

The 2016 presidential election may happen to be one of the most memorable elections to have ever been. From the campaign speeches, to the Democratic and Republican National conventions, and even the presidential debates; Americans seemed to constantly be voicing their opinions on every aspect of the election, and who they believe is the more suitable candidate for president, especially on social media. The 2016 presidential election marks one of the more recent elections where we start to see social media’s impact on it. We see how presidential candidates use social media as a platform to voice about updates on their campaign as well as communicate with their supporters. With the continue rise in the number of social media users as well as politicians now using social media, how much has its impact had on elections and Americans outlook on the campaign.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media websites have affected American elections in many forms. Candidates are now turning their attention to the people on social networks Murse (2015). They 're trying to draw more people like Millennials because they use more technology. These applicants are trying to step up and make a huge difference from the election of 2008. While in the running, the usage of social media is being used to announce what he or she is doing for the presidential campaign. For this reason, candidates, controversy, public opinion, social media and its 21st century media outlets have become the center of the 2016 election (CIO, 2015).

The media has never had the extreme omnipresence it had during the most recent federal elections. For more and more people the media is becoming something habitual, and politicians were among the first to take advantage of this fact. Be it a parties usage of online social platforms, 24-hour news broadcasting stations, or circa the 1800s printed word, there is no doubt the typical citizen feels connected in some regards to this mass of media. With most third-party communication technologies surfacing within the recent decades, the general affect on citizens ' lives is not fully understood. This connection is immense and complex, but it can

The tactics for campaigning and election has been changed forever because of the use of the internet and social media. For example, the widespread protest in the Middle East and North African. Social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can be used here to promote

Obama could have either embraced the use of social media entirely or just sparingly. “During the 2008 campaign, Senator Obama realized that, as a young senator with little exposure running against well known Senators…he needed to create an intimate relationship with U.S. citizens... (Johnson, 2012, p. 59). He not only did that, but took it a step further as well.

Media is known as the “king maker” for many reasons, such as shaping candidates in audience’s perspective. Television has been a big influence in shaping voters choice and labeling political parties, even though some believe media information can be scant in regards to candidates. Media can be anything from television to social media networks and how many people think that media is a great influence, some also think it can be a problem. “It only takes 140 characters to damage a political campaign” in which Smith is referring to social media as being a problem. (Smith, K. 2011. Pg. 9) At the state and local levels party affiliation remains the most important. “In television age, journalist became the chief influence in the selection of candidates

From horse and carriage to social media, political campaigns have definitely come along way since Presidents like George Washington and James Monroe. Traveling days by horse and carriage to spread their political views to an audience of merely a thousand people. With the advancement of technology like the radio, television, and Internet it has made it’s possible for million to hear the views of their Presidential Candidate’s. The Presidential Campaign of 1924 between Calvin Coolidge and John W. David marked the first radio broadcast of political speeches. In 1952 the National Political Convention’s and Presidential Campaign were first televised nationwide. Then in 1960 the debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were televised. The year 2012 had Presidential Candidates’ Barack Obama and Mitt Romney showing a large amount of interest in ways to target the pubic

Over the years the media has made citizens major role players in politics. Ross Perot opened eyes by putting the 1992 Election in the media and thereby allowing voters to become directly involved in politics. The Internet, the new form of mass media “has turned into a major political and media industry” (Grossman 16). Because of the rise the Internet has taken, the idea of direct democracy has risen. The foundation of direct democracy is in self-government. The claim is that the presence of the Internet will increase citizens’ involvement in political issues by allowing them access to more information. This is significant because it takes a look at the impact of technology on society and politics, as well by

In fact, “[a]though television is still the principal medium of election politics, some analysts believe that the Internet will eventually overtake it” (Patterson, 2015 pg.262). Reason being that creating a website is much less expensive than television advertising and allows you to fundraise as well as generate supporters. The only down side is that these messages are more easily disregarded than those of television advertising and makes it harder in reaching voters who are less interested. Nonetheless, campaigning through means of the web is a great tactic for candidates to

Referred to as the “Facebook election” the 2008 US presidential election, and the lesser-known 2007 election campaign of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, dubbed 'Kevin 07 ', set a precedent as to how one could use the dynamic and ever-growing platform of social media to their electoral advantage. It is pertinent to note that Chris Hughes, one of the co-founders of Facebook, was among Barack Obama 's key strategists. Though quite older than the average Facebook user, Obama captured the youth vote, having around 2 million supporters on Facebook, with his Republican rival John