The debates were a tossup. The campaign ads were fairly even. The negatives of each candidate were well-highlighted by each opponent. In 2008, two things contributed to the easy victory that President Barack Obama had over John McCain.
The Obama campaign had a stranglehold on ideas and spreading them through social media.
The first, of course, was what ended up winning it for him, but the second was a contributing factor. Social media was still in its infancy 4 years ago in that most who were on it were still geeks and young people. Things are different, today. The vast majority of Americans are on some sort of social network, get their news from social news sites, or at the very least get exposed to what’s happening on social media through coverage on traditional media.
Obama’s team dominated social media in 2008. With 4 years of practice and a more-vocal following embedded on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Digg, it’s very likely that they will expand on that domination this year.
The difference is in the ideas. Some of the concepts that the President won on back then have not worked out the way he planned. Healthcare reform was to be his crowning achievement in his first term and enough to push him through easily to a second term, but recent polls in the all-important swing states show support of Obamacare is fading.
The economy was another element that is still up for debate. Some of his statements in the early days of his term may come back to haunt him as he has been unable (so far) to fulfill the promises. This is the part where social media can hurt; it’s hard to escape videos like this one:
That challenge may highlight the potential negatives that Obama faces through social media, but it also points to the fact that the GOP has yet to come up with a solid plan for social media. This video could be very damaging and appeared on popular sites like Digg and Breitbart, but it still has far-fewer views than most of the pro-Obama videos.
At this stage, Ron Paul is the only GOP candidate who has proven successful on social media. An argument could be made that the candidate who “never had a chance” has been able to maintain poise and positioning in the contest because of his campaign’s (and more importantly, his followers’) abilities to promote his ideas on social media.
Will any of the other candidates recognize their flaw in relying solely on television and robo-calls in to make a difference in the primaries? Will the eventual nominee have the foresight to put more effort into social media than to post Tweets and grow their Facebook page?
Does the GOP stand a chance against a well-tuned social media machine like Obama’s?
About JD Rucker
Social media is a very powerful in politics, although they can play for or against in an election campaign
I think the social media realm is still lost on many of the candidates from the GOP. In addition to this, it has become a space where many candidates can be openly attacked, look at Rick Perry and his “Strong” ad; over 8 million views, with over 600,000 disliking the ad and only 26,000 liking it. This ad is viewed by many as the turning point in his campaign. The GOP really needs to increase its online presence to counteract the negativity and start spreading the message it wants, not the fragmented messages of candidates.
Alec – Tulane University
Ron Paul is the only Republican who has been able to fully utilize social media because he is the only Republican candidate whose ideas appeal to a young, tech savvy audience. Social Media relies on re-posts, re-tweets, and page views, and because young people still control most of this activity, Republicans like Romney and Santorum don’t stand a chance when their only quotes and sound bites have to do with issues that either don’t appeal to younger voters, or turn them off outright (birth control, pornography, leaving us on our own to pay for education, etc.). Obama’s social media use has been a success not only because he has worked to campaign across many platforms, but also because his ideas appeal to the generation which controls social media.