The political network

Many knows that when it comes to politics and the Internet, a very good example is how Barack Obama used the power of Internet to reach out to the masses. The campaign in 2008 mark the end of the television presidency where candidates uses the television tot reach out to the masses and instead, begins the time of the Internet presidency.

As we all know, the Internet is a powerful tool to reach out to the masses. Using Barack Obama's case as an example, we can analyse why the Internet is a powerful tool to use in politics. 

1) Social Networking

We all know that social networking is a very powerful feature of the Internet. It allows for people to connect with one another and find people with the same interest or so forth to connect with. It allows for one individual to reach a large group of people simultaneously without having to spend a lot of money doing so. In his campaign, Obama enlisted the help of a co-founder of popular social networking site, Facebook, to create a custom networking site for his campaign. The site attracted 1.5 million supporters who can be instantly contacted to help with drumming up support. It also helped in collecting donations for the campaign.Besides that, it also allowed the candidate to post real time information and news to his supporters, unlike newspaper that were show casing yesterday's news. 

2) YouTube

Making and publishing videos has never been easier and cheaper than doing it on YouTube. The website has seen many individuals gain popularity and make money simply by creating and publishing videos of their own interest. During his campaign, Obama's party created official campaign videos and posted them on YouTube. This lowered a lot of the cost needed to run campaigns because creating and posting on to YouTube is free of charge. Unlike having the video run on televisions. People were also able to watch the videos at anytime and anywhere. Individuals were also encouraged to upload speeches by Obama onto YouTube and this generated more popularity for the candidate. Not to mention, YouTube videos can be shared to other social networking sites and this means that more people would eventually watch the videos rather then on television when only those who on their TVs would catch the videos. 

3) Website

Of course every candidate would create their own website to support their campaign and for people to go to gain more information. Obama had his own website as well. On his website, there are position papers, statements and videos that are readily available for people to take a look at. Having websites is one thing, it is also important to know how to manage it well so to gain the most support. 

In Short, Obama used several tools of the Internet to gain support and to get voters to vote for him. This was a very smart move to gain support and reach out to the masses. Using the Internet, the candidates can connect with more people at the same times, deliver information simultaneously and have a more personal contact with people. Not to mention, lowering campaigning cost.