FAKEbook – Who’s on and who pretends to be

Political communication is a huge field that encompasses many technologies and strategies. Even one single medium can be used in a variety of ways.

For example, Facebook, is a social networking site allowing people to become “fans” of politicians. Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin, and many other politicians have these “fan pages.”

However, each of their pages vary because every fan page is run in a different way. John McCain updates his Facebook through his twitter account.

He often comments on politics, but also digresses when he mentions football or other Arizona sporting teams. During the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, McCain used his twitter, and subsequently his Facebook to highlight the allocations he considered “earmarks.”

In the weeks surrounding discussion on the stimulus bill, McCain posted a “top ten list” of the projects in the bill. He counted down, and then introduced “the #1 project of the day... $165,000 for maple syrup research in Vermont.”

Sarah Palin utilizes the “Notes” feature on Facebook to reach her fans making her fan page somewhat like a blog. She promotes her book and gave her opinions on political topics such as oil drilling and veteran’s issues.

The president’s Facebook is quite different than the Palin and McCain pages. His “page is run by Organizing for America, the grassroots organization for President Obama's agenda for change” and not the president himself.

However, some posts on Obama’s site are worded as if they are coming from him directly. Last month there was a post that read, “From my family to yours — Happy Thanksgiving.”

With so many different communication approaches it is difficult to see what messages are directly from the politician, and what support groups produce.

Interview wirth student, Michael Sarcona

Instead of a traditional update, this blog post is in the form of a brief interview. I spoke to senior political science major, Michael Sarcona about how he gets the news.

Climate conference goes hi-tech

This week in Copenhagen the 15^th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) will be broadcast on the web.

The COP15 website states, “all official meetings and press conferences will be available live and on-demand in original languages and in English translation.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark even made a Facebook page for the event. The updates include a countdown to the conference and statements encouraging “fans” to watch the opening ceremonies.

So far, the COP15 twitter account, it has over 10,000 and 1,370 “tweets,” or updates.

The United Nations is utilizing the Internet at a great capacity, even hosting blogs, calendars, and a page for factual information in seven different languages.

However, technical advances have also lead to complications. Fox News reports that last week, e-mails leeks allegedly exposed some scientists who were “manipulating data on climate change.”

Although these leeks may have changed the political discussion, social networks continue to reach the world’s citizens.

Efforts like these show how countries and international groups effectively use social media to communicate.

Before the Internet: How did they do it?

This blog widely revolves around politicians and how they use the Internet. In order to understand the way politicians use Facebook, Twitter, and web sites today, it is necessary to understand where communication started.

Even before America was founded, politicians have been spreading propaganda. Instead of instant news feeds and AP wire reports, news was delivered in slower ways.

The Federalists and Anti-Federalists relied on newspapers, pamphlets, and word of mouth to reach people.

When the radio became popular, political speeches became a community event. Those who owned radios would invite their neighbors over to hear the program.

This marked the first time Americans could feel the President’s charisma (or lack there of) in their own household. President’s like Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt utilized the radio to help ease the public and win re-election.

In the 1950s television burst onto the political scope and quickly became the most widely used outlet for political dialogue.

Television has even been deemed the key technology that broadened the President’s political power. It showed the candidate to millions of viewers and made him the star of the “political show.”

Since the Internet is a relatively new medium being used in politics, it will take time to measure the affects it has on governmental affairs.

Sources:

Technopoly by Neil Postman

History of Mass Communication: Six Information Revolutions by Irving Fang

Packaging the Presidency by Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Track the Tweets!

Our politicians are online. They have Facebook fan pages and YouTube channels, but a big tool for politicians is Twitter.

Politicians may seem more technologically advanced than ever, when in reality Twitter is a simple post and reply website.

Anyone can access this site from their computer or internet capable cell phone. Since most politicians carry PDAs with them everywhere, they always have access to the site.

Now, voters can see all the Tweets of most U.S. politicians without following them on their own stream.

TweetCongress allows users to see live updates from different politicians.

Most updates focus on governmental affairs, like the following post by John McCain: “Continue debate on my amendment to stop Medicare cuts – I encourage every senior to contact their Senators & AARP.”

However, a handful of McCain’s tweets are more casual, wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

Like many politicians, John McCain is using Twitter to inform, persuade, and connect with voters.

Politics and the Internet Gone Global - how the world’s countries use the web for politics

President Obama was in Asia this week speaking about a number of issues. The administration had meetings with China’s political leaders about environmental practices, but the Mr. Obama also held a town hall meeting where he spoke about the country’s internet activity.

The country’s government imposes what is known as the “Great Firewall of China” that was put in place to censor certain websites. Obama did not outright mention his disapproval of the government’s oversight, but he did say he “is a big believer in openness.”

The President claims he enjoys hearing the opinion and critiques of other. Mr. Obama said: “it makes me a better leader, because it forces me to hear opinions I do not want to hear.”

Many countries have made headlines with political action that went viral. This summer the Iranian Presidential election lead to civilian protests. When the government stepped in and stopped the media from filming the dissent, Iran’s citizens took to the web.

Twitter was flooded with updates from the region and became a legitimate source of news. Since other forms of media communication were restricted, tweeting was featured on CNN and BBC.

This event clinched Twitter’s position in politics, at least for the near future. As the popularity of social networks grows, citizen political activity may begin to pop-up more often on the Internet.

Sources:
“Twitter to Iran: Thanks for Nothing” by Lucas Conley
“Barack Obama criticizes censorship in meeting with Chinese students” by Malcolm Moore

Politicians and Reporters - Shared communication strategies

Today, the most popular news stories are not related directly to policy and lawmaking. However, politicians are learning how to make their voters care about policy.

Communication strategies used by reporters may help politicians speak to voters. Measuring the interests of the public is vital to any politician, just as it is vital to any news reporter.

A reporter with News 12 Long Island, Elizabeth Hashagen, described four subjects her viewers care about most. She said that when reporting she relates her stories to her viewer’s “time, health, family, and money.”

In order to attract an audience, reporters must focus on these topics. Time, health, family, and money are areas that also translate to local and federal politics.

Now, politicians are beginning to take note of these four subjects. Modern lawmakers see that their voters care about these four things too.

Voters care about rising taxes (their money). They also think moving violations and speeding laws are important because traffic accidents cause extensive delays in their commute (their time). Most constituents are also concerned with their school system and the education process in their area because it affects their children (their family).

More recently, the health care debate in Congress has been in the news because it concerns people’s well being as well as their money.

Reporters and politicians are figuring out what to talk about in order to get people to care. For years, anchors on the evening news have grasped this concept, just as the most popular politicians. They all figured out what to talk about and how.

While speaking with Hashagen, she recommended reporters speak to their viewers with inclusive terms like “us, we, you.” The same vocabulary and speaking style can evoke emotion voters as well as viewers.

A more conversational communication style has been adopted by news reporters and has begun to permeate the political landscape.

After the election - A new communication strategy

This week local elections were held all across the country. Now, the candidates who were successful in their campaigning are looking to change the way they use the internet.

I spoke with a member of Senator Mark Udall’s Communications staff about the pre-election and post-election messaging strategy.

During the campaign Udall’s team utilized his website and other internet sites to inform the public.

Since it was Udall’s first time running for a Senate seat, his staff focused on telling voters about the candidate and his policy ideas.

The campaign even employed a student from Colorado University to work significantly with Facebook and youth outreach.

Now, after winning the Senate seat Udall’s use of social media has changed.

A member of the Senator’s communication team says internet activity had expanded and Udall now has a Twitter and a YouTube channel.

The different mediums have expanded the way Udall’s political communication works.

Before winning elections, Udall and many politicians intended to use the internet as a one-way communication outlet. It can describe a candidate, but does not really seek ideas from voters.

Now, social media activity has become a “win-win,” the staff member says. The communication department “uses it to hear from constituents, but he can also connect with other policy leaders.”

More and more, politicians seem to be relying on internet activity as a form of communication. A shift like this is natural and may have a positive effect on voter/representative relations.

Facebook, Politics and Young Voters

The 2008 presidential election set the stage for the use of social media in politics.

In a sea of social media websites, Facebook has grown to be one of the most popular. Originally, Facebook’s purpose was connecting classmates.

Now, more lawmakers and political candidates are jumping on the Facebook bandwagon in hopes of reaching young, Internet savvy voters.

Is this type of outreach really effective? Does it help politicians and their younger constituents communicate?

Senior business management major, Amy Williams does not even use Facebook for political updates. Williams says she is much more likely to get campaign information from the New York Times, rather than a candidate’s Facebook profile.

Some students find the personal profiles of politicians unsettling. Williams shays she isn’t concerned with a candidate’s favorite movie and she “would rather know more about policy” because anything else “doesn’t feel genuine.”

Jennifer McKenna, an exercise science major, also seeks sincerity from her lawmakers. McKenna has a problem not knowing if it is the actual politician who updates the online account. “I honestly think the only one who updates is Denis Kucinich,” claims Mckenna.

There has not been a mainstream discussion on who is behind these social profiles, but many political camps now employ a “new media team” to run online outreach.

The role of social media is expanding, but its effects may be limited on a skeptical audience.

Twitter and Healthcare - The Future of Political Feedback

Steve Isreal represents New York's second district. In an interview done for C-SPAN he discusses the role Twitter and other social networks are playing in the raging health care debate.

In this conversation, Congressman Isreal highlights conversations he has had with constuents and other congress people via Tweets.

Politics & Parodies - campaign videos online

Since the Eisenhower vs. Stevenson campaign in 1952, politicians have been using video to promote themselves and their causes. Eisenhower's television spot included a catchy jingle and memorable lyrics.

Now, voters can view these advertisements at their leisure by simply visiting websites like YouTube.com and vimeo.com.

These mediums allow the audience to access the speeches and commercials at any time while also encouraging dialogue.

Accompanying each video is a comment board. Supporters and opponents alike can post their thoughts below the political advertisement.

On one video (below) posted by NYC Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, pro-baseball player Jorge Posada endorses the mayor’s run for re-election. YouTube.com community member, cypris2002 commented, “they pay people to endorse them bottom line politics is not for the people but for the top 1%” [sic].

In one way a website can allude to a candidate’s level of visibility. Bloomberg’s video with the highest number of views reached 59,000+, but the videos on the page of his challenger, Bill Thompson, top out at 1,218 views.

Official political videos are nowhere near the most popular use of YouTube. Parody clips, blooper reels, and music videos, make-up a large volume of YouTube and online video. Political parodies also contribute to online content.

Above, one YouTube user mock’s Bloomberg’s strategy on housing for homeless. The candidate is depicted as a joke. Some comments below the video came to Bloomberg’s defense saying his policy “encourages personal responsibility,” while others say he “sounds like a typical republican” [sic].

Sites like YouTube have the great ability to educate and reach a large population. Therefore, politicians, and their critics too, will continue to use online video in an effort to persuade voters.