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Facebook,
MySpace Aid Presidential Candidates |
Posted:
07.25.07
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Presidential candidates for the 2008 election are using social
networking Web sites as a new tool to do everything from generating
support among undecided voters to raising money.
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 Democratic
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and long-shot Republican Representative
Ron Paul of Texas may not be leading all national polls, but their
use of social networking Web sites tops their presidential rivals.
Obama has more Facebook and MySpace "friends" than
the other presidential contenders: 250,000, which is about 100,000
more than his main Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton, N.Y.,
who leads in traditional voter polls.
Almost every major Democratic and Republican candidate has personalized
Facebook and MySpace profiles, adding information ranging from
lists of their favorite books to campaign promises.
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Will online
success mean election success? |
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While gauging a candidate's success in online fund raising is
possible, with Obama again leading the pack, predicting whether
having the most online "friends" will translate into
support next year is still in question in the presidential race.
"The Holy Grail in politics currently is how to convert
online enthusiasm into off-line action which results in votes,"
said Andrew Rasiej, a political analyst who runs the Web site
techPresident.com, a site that tracks how candidates use the Web
and how Internet users are affecting the elections.
 "There's
no demonstrative data that proves that online fervor is precipitous
in any way."
Every campaign has staff members monitoring their Facebook and
MySpace pages, and the major candidates "have one or two
staff members paying attention to [their profiles] full time,"
Rasiej said.
And Facebook recently added a mechanism that allows users to
build applications, or new features, on their profile pages, potentially
expanding candidates' ability to contact supporters.
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Different
campaigns, different styles |
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Campaigns appear to be approaching social networking differently.
Joe Rospars, Obama's director of new media, recently posted on
the campaign's Web site that the senator is taking the new medium
seriously, using it to attract and organize volunteers.
"We decided to make the attempt to combine the organic support
and community-building of [an online] grassroots effort with the
official campaign outreach efforts," Rospars wrote on the
Web site. The campaign is hoping to reply to every person who
sends a message via the social networks.
Ron Paul, who has become known for his strong online support,
takes a more laissez-faire approach.
According to Jesse Benton, Paul's communications director, the
congressman's profiles are maintained by his grandchildren, which
he said adds a personal touch. Benton said the campaign also tries
to respond to each message but does not attempt to organize volunteers,
target a specific audience, or use the number of friends as an
indicator of voting patterns.
"We're not really trying to tightly manage how these social
networks are used," Benton said. "We're kind of letting
these tools shape as the Internet and our supporters demand. We're
just putting it out there and whoever is attracted [by] our message
and wants to network and talk about Ron Paul is welcome."
Paul leads his fellow Republican candidates in both Facebook
and MySpace friends.
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Using Web
sites to generate money |
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Meanwhile, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, one of
the leading Republican candidates, is looking to Facebook and
MySpace to raise money.
Stephen Smith, director of online communications for Romney,
said in a June 8 NewsHour report that the campaign is banking
on users learning about the former governor and then making an
online donation.
 Visitors
to Romney's site "have the means right here, from that very
moment, of connecting with him, either learning more about his
message, or MySpace has a donation which it builds in right into
the page so they can start the contribution process with one click,"
Smith said.
Rasiej also said social networking has the ability to generate
significant revenue for campaigns but not just by adding a donation
button to their Facebook or MySpace pages.
"Online fund raising is a complete misnomer. Money is a
byproduct of online communities, not the product, and social networks
are representative of the online communities," he said.
"If you want to raise money online by tapping into the fervor
of these online communities, then you should do everything you
can to bolster or nurture the community. It's so ludicrous that
campaigns are not paying more attention to the social networks."
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--By
Brian Mason for NewsHour Extra
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