It's hard to know where we are going if we don't know where we've been. This article takes a look at the 2004 election and compares it to the online social resources that we have now. The article highlights the ease of gaining knowledge and the ability to really get to know a candidate. I think having readily available information not only makes it easier for people to stay informed, but it also makes me want to be informed. If I can, I want to look into motivation for why people stay informed and what drives them to interact with others over politics.
One of my original questions was how politicians are interacting with social media. I found this article that lists members of congress who twitter. It is on a new website that I haven't heard of before, source watch. It is a wikipedia-esque site that "is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda." While its hard to know who is actually writing the "tweets" it will be interesting to track what they are saying, and who is following them.
Tech President website is a "new group blog that covers how the 2008 presidential candidates are using the web, and vice versa, how content generated by voters is affecting the campaign." The blog started in Jan 07 with several authors with various politcal backgrounds and continues tracking how technology is and will effect the presidency and politics in general. This will be a great source to provide a historical perspective and give some insight of what 'experts' think will happen.
I haven't figured out how this site will help yet (I mostly just find it interesting). Even orange juice is getting involved in the politics game. The tool they have created provides a visual representation of what's being said on twitter and the positive and negative connotations.
A big challenge for this paper will be narrowing down my focus. I think my sources are across the board and one thing that I will need to do in the weeks to come is pare down where I am going and identify what is the most telling.
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Freshly Squeezed Election Tweets - completely mesmerizing. What would compel Tropicana to do such a thing? Any ideas?
I think the Pew Internet and American Life Project study that Robyn posted might have some good information for your paper. They have compiled a lot of data about how people used technology to stay informed about the 2008 election. The study was published in mid-June, so it is remarkably timely.
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