Social media sites are playing a vital role in the 2012 election. First, candidates use social media sites to get their messages out to the public. Second, candidates can raise campaign funds and advertise for free. Third, election headquarters/websites are using social media sites as tracking devices to monitor voter’s activity. And finally, public viewers can express their opinions, viewpoints, and relay information to others through these sites about their candidates of choice.
These social sites offer an online presence for candidates without spending a lot of campaign money. Facebook, Twitter and You Tube etc. are free sites. It not only saves money but it reaches a multitude of it constituents within a matter of a short amount of time. Pew Research (2012) found that political videos are highly social. “Some 52% of registered voters say that other people have recommended political videos for them to watch this election season, with social networking sites playing a prominent role in this process. In addition, 19% of registered voters have recommended online political videos for other people to watch” (para. 2).
Social media sites allows followers to be updated and informed. Those followers can re-post this info spreading viewpoints free of charge. It’s an excellent advertising tool.
Pew Research Center. (2012). Over half of registered votes have watched political videos online. Retrieved November 3, 2012 from http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2406/political-videos-online-internet-registered-voters-humorous-parody-campaign-ads
dianemcdonnell 