As most of you have figured out, social media has been incorporated into nearly every aspect of our lives. Today, it is politics. With the presidential elections quickly approaching, we are seeing nothing but political ads trying to sway our vote to one side or the other. The newest form of media to bombard us with is social media. Politicians have found that if they’re not using Facebook and Twitter, they are missing a huge chunk of the audience they’re trying to reach. With nearly 4 million tweets during the Republican convention and over 3 million during the first night of the Democratic convention, it’s pretty apparent that this is how a large group of Americans express their political opinions.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that social media is a vehicle for information, but so what? How has it really impacted the political world? One example was in the 2008 election with Barack Obama. His campaign was the first to emphasize social media in order to help drive the fundraising initiative. Through reaching out to the social network users of America, Obama was able to raise $409.2 million in pre-nomination contributions, twice as much as McCain.<\/p>\n
Now, four years later, the election campaigns seem to have fully integrated social media as an integral part of their drive to gain votes. Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and even Google+ pages. These groups are now PR platforms for each candidate and present another opportunity beyond traditional mediums to reach their audiences. They can post the campaign videos, graphics with iconic quotes, and of course, bash the other candidates.<\/p>\n