Political Campaigning on the Internet

Twice as many Americans used the internet as their primary source of news about the 2006 campaign compared with the most recent mid-term election in 2002. Some 15% of all American adults say the internet was the place where they got most of their campaign news during the election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002. A post-election survey shows that the 2006 race also produced a notable class of online political activists. Some 23% of those who used the internet for political purposes, the people we call "campaign internet users" actually created or forwarded online original political commentary or politically-related videos. (pewinternet.org, 2006).

The trend stated above has been a very common phenomenon during the U.S elections and political campaigns.Even now,as Barrack Obama and Hilary Clintion are campaigning for the recent elections, the internet has been one of the first choices of medium used to reach voters and to reach the people.

In one of Obama's speeches, he stated that our generation has grown in such a way that has "reshaped our economy to compete in the digital age".

The immense transformative power of technology and innovation and how they can improve the lives of all Americans has been one of the most important items on Obama's list. Even as he campaigns for the election, he sees that technology offers the tools to create real change in America.

Obama’s forward-thinking 21st century technology and innovation policy starts by recognizing that we need to connect all citizens with each other to engage them more fully and directly in solving the problems that face us. Perhaps that is why, he has extensively used the internet to reach to the people and to aid his political campaigning.

That is an example of political campaigning using the tools of the internet (web 2.0).

However, using the internet can not all be good. If we looked at the traditional methods of political campaigning, such that which Singapore uses, such as visiting neighbourhoods, going door to door and interacting directly and face-to-face with people cannot be directly copied and imitated by the tools of the internet. There are several differences between the two and perhaps that is also why Singapore, although having the capability and technology include the internet for politics, still remains and keeps its traditional methods of political campaigning.

The interpersonal touch can be lost through the use of the internet for political campaigning. Sincerity is more visible and even tangible through the use of traditional campaigning. However, there are also, limitations to the traditional methods of campaigning such as the audience reach. Not as much people can be reached using the traditional method and it can also become a very tiring, and tedious job to constantly engage in community visits, as building interpersonal rapport can be a very time consuming effort. Therefore the internet can be a very usefull tool despite the little inconveniences that the internet might provide such as the exclusion of interpersonal activities-which can be remedied with the use of social media.