The Emerging Political Strategy into the Blogosphere and Social Networks
Feb 14, 2007 by Tamar Weinberg | Blogging, NewsAs presidential hopefuls are looking to strategize their political campaign, new media outlets are being explored as novel ways for these candidates to reach out to a different demographic. Candidates are looking at blogs, search engines, and other popular social networks to reach out to the tech-savvy and the youth that embraces the online social sphere.
Last month, John Edwards announced his candidacy on YouTube. When Barack Obama announced that he was joining the race this weekend, his website was launched with a social network, My.BarackObama.com, which is displayed prominently on his website. Hillary Clinton has a MySpace page, and as of this writing, has 22,310 friends.
According to the Wall Street Journal, campaigns are practicing a relatively new phenomenon known as “blog outreach.” In some cases, ads are being purchased on political blogs. 
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is utilizing this strategy. Others are blogging in support of the candidates. John Edwards has used this extensively, as Robert Scoble acknowledges. John Edwards understands the role of social media in his campaign. In my experience within the blogs I read (that are not necessarily political in nature), this certainly appears to give Edwards an edge. Essentially, Edwards’s name in these apolitical social outlets can be likened to “brand awareness.” Visibility is important. Whereas traditional media is not as prominent for some, the online visibility could be a determining factor for a vote, giving off the awareness to heavy online users that the presidential hopefuls understand this new way of life.
The Internet is a great medium for these “future presidents” to advertise. However, there certainly will be a learning curve as individuals working on the campaigns resolve issues relating to campaign video software compatibility, hiring the wrong bloggers, and ignoring blogs that could be suitable advertising mediums.
Even despite these hurdles, candidates are understanding that an online presence is essential for the success of their campaigns. The 2008 campaign will definitely be an exciting ride.
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3 Responses to “The Emerging Political Strategy into the Blogosphere and Social Networks”
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Politics bring a new wrinkle to the “transparency” of the blogosphere? I think the cat is out of the bag. Every politician and they’re brother is jumping on the bandwagon. Edwards camp has done a good job at being a first mover and getting Podtech to cover them. Can they keep the momentum going though, that is the real question and how will they manage any negative feedback in the blogosphere. It will be an interesting ride.
I would say you’re right — transparency concerns abound with this one given the current status of the blogosphere and its reputation. I think that the reason for utilizing bloggers is because of a variety of factors: a different demographic (at least in my case; I read tech/SEO blogs and am not so into politics myself, but seeing Scoble’s coverage was very interesting), a different perspective (compared to traditional media), and an opportunity for the “little guy who writes on a blog” to have a voice. Truthfully, I just hope there’s a lot of full disclosure going on.
scary. honestly.