No way…Politicians using social media?

Politicians using social media for campaigning sounded a bit funny years ago, but today it is a vital tool for getting more people involved, not to mention targeting the younger generation to be more involved with politics and voting.

There are many ways in which a politician can use social media to campaign during elections etc, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flicker, Blogs, Websites are just a few! These have influenced many people to vote for politicians due to their use of social media and connecting to an audience….  And NO I’m not speaking about Pauline Pants Down (Pauline Hanson) little YouTube clip that I saw when I was under the age of 10 made back in the day of Dinosaurs as a mockery of her, I think it made people run away with their tail in between their legs scared! Good try Pauline! 

   

I am not really into politics itself but while elections were carried out I saw a few campaigns by politicians with the use of social media that I always remember even till today.

Kevin 07 Campaign & My-Barack-Obama

These campaigns used social media to their advantage; by using it effectively they were able to pull many voters towards their campaign. 

BARACK OBAMA THE FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA PRESIDENT

http://www.barackobama.com/im-in-splash-2

Barack Obama is the first "Social Media President" in history.  He's the first one to understand and harness the power of sharing and communicating through social media platforms to not only get out his message, but to energize a group of Americans into action.

Barack Obama used mybarackobama.com, Flicker, Obama’s blog, You-Tube (yes we can), Twitter and Facebook to bring towards his campaigning everyday, not only directing it towards his voters but towards generation Y, as they use their social media platforms daily he was able to connect with this generation in understanding the way in which they utilise technology.

All his Tweeting, Face-booking and YouTubing paid off when he was announced Americans first African American President.  

KEVIN 07

Kevin Rudd started ‘Kevin 07’ in 2007 during election campaigning. This was a popular campaign that many people remember and recognise.

After attracting more than 10,000 friends on his MySpace account and almost 5,000 on Facebook, the Labor leader has now launched his own Kevin07 site www.kevin07.com. The Kevin Rudd website encourages people to send in their own videos sharing their views on why they plan to vote for Kevin Rudd, and to have their say on Labor policies.

Both campaigns were very popular and these are only two campaigns using social media out of hundreds! I do believe that Barack Obama’s campaign is the most well known out of all campaigns and he has seen the most success through the contribution of younger audiences.


www.kevin07.com
http://www.barackobama.com/im-in-splash-2