No matter who you are voting for, it is clear that Obama has changed the way presidential campaigns are run. Obama is using the internet and social media to reach voters on a more personal and driven level. After reading the article "The Machinery of Hope" in the Rolling Stone I was pretty amazed about how much Obama's campaign has embraced social media as a way to create relationships with the voters and get voters active and engaged in the campaign.
Obama and his campaign have even created their own social networking site called MyBo, which allows Obama supporters to organize together in groups such as Texas Business Women for Obama. Obama also boasts many networks within Facebook including Obama 08'
and Barack Obama supporters.
All these sites allow supporters to have control over context and activity within the group that builds the foundation for major turnouts in polling and campaign headquarters. What is so interesting about the way Obama has run the social media campaign, is that to the average voter, like myself, you would have no idea exactly how much he and is campaigners have utilized the new tools. He doesn't talk about it in speeches, or flaunt it in traditional media. It is really a grass roots campaign. He plays by the rules of the traditional media outlets, but behind the smiles and waves, he knows that getting people's votes isn't from really expensive TV ads, but from behind the scenes social media sites, letting the people take charge of the discussions. Obama's campaign seems to mimic Obama's true intentions. To actually allow the voters to decide what issues are important and to be apart of the conversation, not just an audience to impress.
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