5 Ways New Media Are Changing Politics

1.     News You Can Choose

With the Internet, YouTube, TiVo and cable TV, people are becoming selective viewers nowadays. People approach their news consumption the way they approach their iPod: You download the songs you like and listen to them when you want to listen to them. This behavior consequently affects the way reporters spend their days and the way campaigns communicator craft their message.

2.     Share This

Sharing is emerging as a way of distributing the news; tweets from the streets of Iran and from the rubble of Haiti have been retweeted hundreds of times in a new, virtual form of word of mouth. The White House’s Facebook page has nearly half a million fans; its Twitter feed has 1.7 million followers. In fact, President Obama was the first candidate to announce his White House run via Web video and his vice presidential pick by text message.

3.     Like It

By clicking on a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” icon, constituents can give politicians an instant read on opinions and positions posted on their Web pages, sort of a rudimentary straw poll that is faster, cheaper, but less accurate, than a high-priced telephone poll. By having a large number of ‘thumbs up’, it indicates that the politician has a strong support and could possibly win the election.

4.     Connect with Others

Last-minute organizational details for tea parties, town hall meetings, and even State of the Union-watching events get posted on Facebook pages and tweeted to supporters. It sure beats passing out fliers at subway stops, as political organizers used to do. Furthermore, utilizing new media is inexpensive and allows the politician to give their feedback immediately

5.     Donate Now

New media is a great tool to reach mass audience in order to raise funds for the political candidate. John McCain first harnessed the Internet for fundraising after his 2000 New Hampshire primary victory. In 2007, Ron Paul raised $4 million online in one day, despite being largely ignored by the media. Barack Obama raised hundreds of millions online over the course of his presidential run. Most politicians would rather have thousands of individual givers than a few big corporate donors, and the Internet makes that much easier.

By Siti Nuraishah Binti Md Pilus

2011477058