How social media is changing elections and politicians.

For my final paper, I want to evaluate how social media and technology have changed and are continuing to change elections as well as how it makes politicians accessible. By analyzing these pieces I can project if these changes are benefiting politics or just becoming a nuisance.

I've found a couple articles in previous posts about technology usage in regards to the election and will use those in conjunction with with these new sources. In order to predict what is going to happen in the future (and if it is good for us) one needs to thoroughly understand the past. That will be the first section of my paper and from that I will look at how elections and politicians themselves have changed to incorporate social media into their lives.

It takes technology to elect a president (http://www.businessweek.com).
This article takes a look at how technology has affected elections in the past and their predictions for what will be important in the 2012 election.

Copenhaver ventures to online world (http://chronicle.augusta.com).
This article looks at a local mayor and his use of facebook. He finds it useful to gain feedback and connect with his constituents, however this brings up an interesting problem with social media, how much feedback is too much feedback?

At this point, I have a couple paths to follow within my topic question and I may have to let the rest of my research lead me the rest of the way.

How Social Media is affecting politics

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.

Social Media and Politics

Topic Question: What impact are social media such as Facebook or myBarackObama.com
likely to have on American politics in the future?

Research Questions:
How did social media effect the 2008 election & future elections?
How are people using social media to get involved in politics, are they getting involved or just standing on the sidelines?
How are the politicians adapting social media?
Does Social media create a more informed citizen?

Sites/Links:
Connecting with the president. (CNN article on Obama's Blackberry usage)
No president has yet to use email service while in office because it can be tracked. What does that mean for future presidents who use technology and social media?

Fireside Chats. (change.gov/youtube.com)
Obama releases fireside chats via Youtube. The president is connecting to anyone at anytime they wish to listen in. This is being picked up by many sites, and not staying just on the change.gov site.

Marketing of a President. (Harvard Business Review)
Detailing how Obama used technology and communication to win the presidency. His campaign was able to get people interested and motivated in the election. How can social media keep the momentum going.

Social Media Biz. (Socialmedia.biz)
Providing background on social media and how it makes Obama the first "two way" president.