Social Networking and Politics
Is it Obama’s Facebook Page
I have endorsed Obama in a truly millenial way. I have become a fan of his facebook page. I have embedded his videos on my personal profile. I have donated to his campaign after receiving an email urging me to help him reach his goal of 500,000 contributors before March 4th. But is that why I voted for him in the NY primary? NO.
Joe Marchese gets it right in his article in MediaPost below… sure, social media has become the media of choice for the millenial generation but it’s not just the existance of that media that matters - it’s the message. Obama’s message of Hope, his desire to take action and augment our current society, to band together to create change is inherently millenials and viral.
“Another fact cited is that all the candidates have a MySpace/Facebook page. Social media’s power is in people-to-people communication, not politician-to-people communication. The text, images and videos on a candidate’s MySpace page likely sound similar to what would have been available on his or her Web site (perhaps with a little more focus on the age demo), and it’s likely the same thing the candidate says to a crowd at a college. Creating a social networking page does not magically “plug” a candidate into the young. It simply enables people to share what the candidate says. What the candidate says is still what matters.”
The Social Media Mirror - Joe Marchese
It’s what I’d tell marketers who would come to Deep Focus with an RFP that said solely - we want to create a viral sensation. Well, ok but about what? You can’t just create a youtube video and a myspace and facebook campaign and call it a viral campaign. You have to craft a meaningful or comical message that inspires people to share.
