As the internet evolves from a vertical to a horizontal industry, it changes the DNA of long-standing infrastructures and fields, including politics. In pre-bubble days, this translated into leveraging the web to support grassroots efforts like fundraising and recruiting campaign volunteers – efforts that have, arguably, given unlikely politicians like Jesse Ventura a competitive edge. Nowadays, with the growing mainstream popularity of social-media and mobile applications, the web serves as an immediate and reciprocal means of communication for political campaigns. Beyond being mere grounds for extending the 30-second TV spot, sites ranging from personal blogs to MySpace have initiated a dialogue that has, in effect, prodded political figures to prove their authenticity. In Darwinian terms, those who will succeed in this environment are more likely to be those who strategically and lucratively embrace this open-forum to not only establish rapport with potential voters, but also to effectively and swiftly address challenges from the greater public (read: former next-door neighbor posts photos of a candidate’s night out on the town on Facebook), in addition to those stemming from the more traditional media outlets.
As a voter, how do you feel about this overall shift? Does your trust in candidates correlate to their growing online presence?
This post was written by Adriana Gascoigne, from Girls in Tech – A partner of Girl Geek Dinners
