Campaigns Use Social Media to Lure In Younger Voters. If the presidential campaigns of 2008 were dipping a toe into social media like Facebook and Twitter, their 2012 versions are well into the deep end. They are taking to fields of online battle that might seem obscure to the non-Internet-obsessed — sharing song playlists on Spotify, adding frosted pumpkin bread recipes to Pinterest and posting the candidates’ moments at home with the children on Instagram. At stake, the campaigns say they believe, are votes from citizens, particularly younger ones, who may not watch television or read the paper but spend plenty of time on the social Web. The campaigns want to inject themselves into the conversation on services like Tumblr, where political dialogue often takes the form of remixed photos and quirky videos. To remind Tumblr users about the first presidential debate on Wednesday, Mr. “The more people you talk to, the more likely you are to win,” said Mr. “Even a typo is a big deal,” Mr.
In July, when Mr. Political Parties Lose Their Monopoly: Techno-Optimist Frees The Voter File. 3 Ways Social Media Is Reshaping the Political Landscape. The recent political conventions underscored a few disconcerting trends. Our political leadership is not only out of touch with reality but also tends to distort the truth. How can social-media-based innovations address these challenges?
Given that social media excel at connecting people with society’s leaders, there is no question social entrepreneurs can play a major role in the country’s future. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted in his company’s S-1 IPO filing that he viewed Facebook as a tool that could “bring a more honest and transparent dialogue around government that could lead to more direct empowerment of people.”
While Zuckerberg believes that social media can more bring accountability to the political process and offer solutions to some of our biggest problems, how is this vision being realized? Clicktivism Founded in 2006 by two Stanford University undergrads, Change.org aims to overcome microcosmic challenges. Civic Engagement Voter Engagement. Fact Checking Political Ads: There Are Apps for That.
A month ago, before the Republican and Democratic national conventions, the average TV viewer in Cleveland was seeing about 87 presidential campaign ads each week. And in Orlando, Fla.? About 70. According to Joseph Mercurio, who manages political ad buys, those numbers are “unprecedented.” He told the AP that a competitive statewide race with “heavy” expenditures would have only about 20 ads being viewed each week on average.
Most of those ads, from both sides, are negative attacks on the other guy. Given the barrage of messages and no “truth in advertising“ requirement, how is a voter to separate fact from fiction? There’s an app for that. In late August, the Sunlight Foundation released Ad Hawk (iOS and Android), and Glassy Media released SuperPACApp (iOS). How do these apps work? Both apps use digital music fingerprint technology to identify an ad that is playing on your TV or computer. Both apps tell you the name of the ad sponsor, but the similarity ends here. My wish list Related. The Reddit Edit. New Tool Connects Facebook Friends With Political Campaigns. Starting immediately, Democratic and progressive campaigns will be able to tap into the power of Facebook to take political organizing into the social realm.
Democratic campaigns have long had access to the Voter Activation Network (VAN), a digital database of voter information that helps campaigns stay organized. The VAN includes a wealth of data about individuals in a given area, including their voting history, interactions with a particular campaign, phone number and mailing address. Now, volunteers and staff working for a particular campaign will now be able to match their Facebook friends to individuals already included in the VAN with a new tool called "Social Organizing. " Once those two worlds are matched up, campaign staff can perform targeted outreach to friends and family of supporters. SEE ALSO: Google to Political Campaigns: Get Online, Now [INFOGRAPHIC] "Campaigns are going to be helping [volunteers] identify people that want to be asked," said Trevelyan.
Afghanistan Activists Urge Use of Social Media to Fight Politics. Free speech activists in Afghanistan launched Twitter and Facebook campaigns on Sunday to fight government media curbs as well as to dispel incorrect information being perpetuated by clashing NATO and Taliban claims. Both NATO and the Taliban have used social media in the past to perpetuate arguments and campaign for individual causes. And Afghani journalists have been pushed against a wall with the government's new, strict press freedom laws, leaving the public confused about the current state of affairs.
Media advocacy groups like Nai have decided to fight back, encouraging the use of social media to provide the public with a more reliable and a somewhat more accessible form of information. In the past, social media has been used to fight conditions like limited women's rights — a topic the country's mainstream media can't easily cover without widespread backlash. SEE ALSO: Tweeting a War: How One Journalist Is Using Twitter in Afghanistan Image courtesy of Flickr, Gersyko.
'Politwoops' Collects Politicians' Deleted Tweets. In politics, there's no taking back a gaffe or a misspoken comment — except on Twitter, where tweets can be deleted, forever lost in Internet limbo. But "Politwoops" is about to change all that. A new site from the Sunlight Foundation will save politicians' deleted tweets for all the world to see, whether they were correcting a typo or they regretted sending a tweet they later realized was inappropriate — or worse.
Politiwhoops provides a simple, easy-to-read look at the deleted tweets of every member of congress using Twitter, plus those of President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney. The platform also shows a tweet's lifespan from birth to deletion, which client was used to send each tweet and any thumbnails that were attached to a tweet. The Sunlight Foundation's stated organizational goal is to make politics more accountable and transparent, and Politwoops reflects that mission.
Politwoops works by tapping into Twitter's API and constantly monitoring 435 politicians' accounts. Romney v. Obama: Who is Winning at Twitter? Who has been using Twitter better in the past few months: Mitt Romney or Barack Obama? In the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (2000), the main character is competing in a golf tournament against two very different rivals. One is a polished, controlled, consistent player with flawless technique. The other is a brash, messy, undisciplined player who knows that no matter how he plays, he only needs one brilliant shot to win.
At the end of the tournament (spoiler alert) these two disparate players end up with the exact same score. Both Romney and Obama are on Twitter. Both are consistently using it to push their political messages. Obama is using Twitter in the way social media was meant to be used. By all accounts, Team Obama has beaten Team Romney by a landslide of birds and giant whales. We know that on CNN at 8:43 p.m.
5 Tips For Politicians on Pinterest. From presidential contenders to school board hopefuls, political candidates are experimenting with a wide variety of social platforms to get their message heard. Some are turning to Pinterest, the explosively popular image-based pinboard site — even President Obama and Ann Romney, wife of Mitt Romney, have accounts on the image-based social network. What's the key to political perfection on Pinterest? Zach Cole and Garrett Law of social media agency Attention Span Media, which has worked with several political campaigns, have shared with Mashable five of their can't-miss tips for Pinteresting pols: It's All About Images "Pinterest is very visual," said Cole.
Translation: Don't put overly-long captions on your photos or send out too many infographics. "If people wanted to read position papers and debates," added Law, "there are other platforms for that. Make it Shareable "Put stuff there that's shareable," said Cole. What might sharable content look like for a politician? Law agreed. Karl Rove's Plot To Take Youth Vote From Obama Just Might Work. Facebook App Lets You 'Cosponsor' Bills in Congress. “Citizen Cosponsor,” a new platform from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), lets Facebook users show their support of a particular Congressional bill with the click of a mouse. Once a user “cosponsors” a bill, they receive periodic updates on its status — if there’s a hearing about it, whether it’s passed committee, or if it’s up for a full vote in Congress.
Facebook automatically shows off a user’s support of a bill to all of his or her friends. The platform is built on Facebook’s Open Graph, which lets developers create apps that seamlessly integrate into Facebook users’ news feeds and Timelines. Funding for the project came from directly from Rep. Cantor’s office. Matt Lira, director of new media for Rep. Cantor, says the idea was sparked after Facebook launched Open Graph and the first apps to make use of it were released. Cantor’s office intends the platform to create more engagement between voters and government. “We have a startup mentality to it,” says Lira.
Can online activists eliminate politicians that don’t understand the Internet? On the heels of the failed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) bill, Democratic Rep. John Mizuno of Oahu, Hawaii recently introduced a new bill (H.B. 2288) that would require Internet service providers to track all ”Internet destination history information” as well as ”subscriber’s name and address” for a period of two years. Due to the vague language of the bill, the law would have required all businesses in Hawaii that provide a Wi-Fi network to track user activity. While this change would certainly effect any Hawaii resident that subscribes to Internet service, the six million tourists that visit the state each year would be subject to online tracking through hotels, coffee shops and other public Wi-Fi areas.
As mentioned within a CNET interview, the bill was partially inspired by Oahu Republican Kymberly Pine’s experience with a political attack site called KymPineIsACrook.com. Enter Reddit Interview with Test PAC Treasurer.