Internet Politics

Obama Vs. John McCain is a typical example of how Internet prevails over traditional means to gain popularity for votes such as bidding, surveys, flyers distribution...etc. Let's watch a video about the contrast between using internet as a means for presidential election and the traditional way.



 To be successful today, Internet Technology is indispensable. First, let us take a look where does political power comes from:

1. Legitimate Power: This kind of power is given by a authoritative figure such as the President, government, or teacher. Legitimate power is used to enforce standards of behavior. A school prefect has this power to give demerit points to misbehaving students.
2. Referent Power: This power bestowed upon individuals by virtue of accomplishments. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew deserved this power when he single-handedly  built Singapore to what it is today.
3. Expert Power: This power springs from education and experience. To be called an expert, one must have expertise in a specialized field. to achieve that, he must spend years of research. 

Now, where does Internet comes in from here? Is it authoritative at all? Iran, a war-striken country, has much more online users than any country in the Middle East. During the Iranian Regime crackdown, the brutality were all captured  on mobile phone videos and posted online for the whole world via Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and email. The multitude of bloggers in Iran had closed down many newspapers firms and caused many journalists jobless. News and information spreads faster on the net then publications.

So is the Internet authoritative? During the Presidential Election in 2008, the Obama campaign used the internet to organize his supporters in a way that in the past would have required an army of volunteers and paid organizers on the ground. This not only helped him in the November election against the Republican nominee John McCain, but was probably the decisive factor in his Democratic primary contest against Hillary Clinton.

     First, the Obama campaign started off with few resources and little name recognition, but the internet helped him connect to his core supporters in cost-effective ways. It aided in his fund raising through advertising.
     Second, Obama was able to connect with young people aged  roughly 18 to 29 years old, the cohort known as the millennials. It allowed him to mobilize their energy and passion. This achieved a sense of belonging and achievement in the younger generations, knowing that they played an active and important in the future of their country.
    Third, Obama reached out to much more. He could create blogs and platform issues, which any one from any part of the world could understand and comment on his values. on MyBarackObama.com, a ‘cookie’ or internet tag, was placed in a voter’s web browser. This cookie could identify the types of sites the user visited afterward, helping inform which political ads were served up to the user.

Is Internet authoritative and influential? Well, it definitely is.