As Americans take to the polls, there is a sense at home and around the world that this election will be one for the ages.
Not only is it the first time a black American could be elected president, but it also takes place against one of the most dramatic backgrounds of the past century: an economic crisis that threatens to drag the entire globe into a deep recession, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with no simple answers, and so much dissatisfaction with the record of the current administration that both candidates are campaigning on a platform of change.
The election of 2008 will be significant for one other reason. The Internet has played an increasingly influential role in past presidential elections, but this campaign has seen its true coming of age as a game-changer. As Benjamin Okande, Dean of the Webster University School of Business and Technology commented, the winner of this election will in all likelihood be determined by the I.P.O.D. generation – Internet savvy, Phone addicted, Opportunistic, and Digitally conscious.
“The future of American politics will never be the same,” said Okande. “The I.P.O.D.ers are poised to become the conscience of this nation.” Some 44-million strong, this digital generation represents a voting bloc not tied to the one-party mindset of their parents. “If they don’t see results and movement away from the status quo, they will influence others with their phones and use the power of the Internet to ensure that other I.P.O.D.ers are keenly aware of their views.”
Such broad statements are easy to make, but is there concrete proof of the influence of the Internet in this election? Yes, and its startling.
Consider the impact of the Internet on the fund raising efforts of the Barack Obama campaign. It has been said that one of his best hires was Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes, who helped devise the campaign’s online strategy. Hughes has used the power of MySpace and Facebook to solicit millions of dollars in donations in increments starting as low as $15. Some $300 million has been raised for the Obama campaign from more than 3 million donors contributing less than $200 each. That has been a significant advantage to his campaign which has raised a record-breaking $640 million.
According to the Personal Democracy Forum, an online group which has been tracking the candidates use of the Web, Obama has some 2.04 million Facebook supporters compared to 565,000 for John McCain. Obama, through his MySpace Web site, has amassed 834,850 friends, compared to 218,483 for McCain. Instead of using the Internet as a device to simply preach to potential voters, these social networking sites give supporters tools to organize events, raise money, and reach out to friends without waiting for the go-ahead from campaign headquarters.
Consider also, the use of video streaming in this election. Both candidates have effectively used the medium to promote messages and replay speeches. A speech Obama gave in March about race has had more than 5 million viewers on YouTube and McCain running mate Sarah Palin has been nothing short of an Internet superstar, although not for all the right reasons. Saturday Night Live sketches of Tina Fey’s impersonation of Sarah Palin have racked up more than 50 million views on sites like YouTube, and a not so complimentary interview of Palin by network anchor Katie Couric has been a ratings hit for CBS online.
Perhaps just as telling will be the use of the Internet by voters hungry for news of the results on Tuesday night. Sure, most will likely have their televisions on to listen to commentary in the background, but voters will undoubtedly be turning to the Internet to get the results locally and nationally first and then they’ll be celebrating or mourning the news with their friends on Facebook and MySpace.
The I.P.O.D. generation, as Webster University’s Okande notes, has been thrown a series of curve balls largely out of their control, from the aftermath of Sept. 11 through to the current economic crisis. But their ability to shape and direct the political future has never been more powerful thanks in large part to their embrace of Web 2.0 technologies.
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