This year, presidential candidates have the opportunity to meander in and out of the social media avenues, which may very well have a significant impact on the 2008 election.

Steve Grove, head of News and Politics at YouTube, says his site has seen an unprecedented rise in user-created political dialog in the form of videos and “…anything that brings more people to the table is a great first step. It’s a conversation, not a distribution mechanism,” said Grove. “It’s so antithetical to the way politics has been run for the past 30 years.”

We certainly can’t argue that the web is changing the fundamental nature of organizations now and I’m sure we will see dramatic changes over the next decade. So the question is, as campaign organizations and candidates take advantage of social media, will it make a difference in the outcome of our presidential election?

I believe the answer to be yes, absolutely yes. Just like television debates, presidential interviews on radio and TV, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, and other social media, is one of the greatest vehicles of our decade to get their message out, to raise funds and to influence the millions of voters who use social media on a regular basis.

The connection is also much more personal as candidates re-invent their personas in an attempt to appear more in touch with the younger generations. The political landscape is also infiltrated with bloggers that initiate questions with the capacity of receiving quick responses pertaining specifically to each candidate and the major political issues at hand. Take a moment to hear about this trend by Nancy Wilson.

And again, given John Edwards’s decision to use USTREAM (before he opted out of the presidential race) to talk to his supporters, “Marketers should be paying more attention to how politicians are adopting social media, creating new avenues for conversation. Michael Cornfield, adjunct professor of Political Management at George Washington University and a leading expert on politics and social media and an and author of two books on online campaigning, speaks with Jennifer Jones about the latest innovative uses of these new tools. Also check out Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s site, as they display social media all throughout the site to connect voters.

In passing, asking a few neighbors and family members about whether or not social media has affected their political views. Some of the answers were:

“Hasn’t really affected my views yet, but allowed me to understand other viewpoints and provides an avenue for more thought on the major issues and each candidates stand.”

“Absolutely has affected my vote. I’m more informed.”

“Has caused me to be more open-minded. I look forward to the consistent political chatter.”

“Social media? I don’t even bother with it”.

No doubt, two way communications in a presidential election campaign brings a whole new dimension to the 2008 election. If social media has affected your political considerations or stand, voice your opinion in the comments below!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 10:40 am and is filed under Communication, Press, Social Networks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.