Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Obama's Internet Sucess Helps increase democratic efficacy voters!
I am sure you all have heard the term "efficacy" when it comes to politics, and it is one of the most important aspects of the outcome of elections. It has been theorized that republicans have a higher efficacy group of voters which means that their registered voters have a higher turnout rate that democrats do. this implies that when turnout for an election is low republicans usually reap the benefits (this is why republicans aren't as vocal about getting to the poles). Because there are more registered democratic voters (but are low efficacy) democrats usually win elections when turnout is high. This is why republicans typically win midterm elections more than democrats do. With that said the Democrats and President Obama really stepped it up to help remove the "efficacy" factor and help generate a high turnout in the election. As most of you in the class have noted there are numerous websites that supported the election of Barrak Obama and really helped spread the word to people to make sure they took the time to vote. Some of the largest internet campaigns were "Rock the Vote" and "Vote or Die". These campaigns made multiple youtube/internet videos with various celebrities that helped raise awareness for Obama and also encouraged people to vote him. With this internet/entertainment marketing tactic Obama and his team were really able to defy the norms of traditional politics and come out on top. In my opinion they not only were able to get young people and minorities to the polls (Cause those are the lowest efficacy so that was really their target audience) but they also instilled a sense of pride in them that continues to keep them interested in politics and Obama's term. Thus, the internet not only helped get the votes but also helped increase the overall efficacy of the democratic party. I am confident that we will see a higher turnout and more success in the democratic party in the mid term election in 2010. Does anyone here agree with me?
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I definitely agree with you. Two major groups turned out to vote Democrat in significantly higher percentages in the 2008 election.
ReplyDelete1. The younger generation, who viewed Obama as intelligent, different, and a liberator for the truth and change in Washington
2. The minority/immigrant vote, who specially connected with Obama based on his international background and life experience as a person of color
Young voters and minority voters are not mutually exclusive (I am one), and I was a huge reader of Internet polls, stories, blogs, and websites leading up to the election.
The Internet was huge in increasing Democrats' efficacy, especially through Obama's website and 50 state approach -- Davis Plouffe, his campaign manager, used the Internet to recruit people from every state in the union and to thus compete in all 50 states.
This, again, goes against the status quo, as with the electorate system, almost all states are "all or nothing" in the end. Obama had campaign offices in even the reddest states, like Texas and Nebraska, if nothing else to prove that more Democrats and supporters would increase efficacy and go out to vote.
I think you've put your finger on an important psychological variable, a potential voter's sense of efficacy. I wonder, though, if it is the technology alone which increases efficacy. What the technology makes possible is the sense that you are not alone and that there are many people who feel the way you do who want to take the same action. This "multiplier" effect we might want to called the perception of COLLECTIVE efficacy. In other words, the Internet makes it very possible (and this is where the Obama team's creativity comes in) for people to see that how they can become part of a larger movement with little or at least lesser cost to themselves. Thus, technolog may be the enabler at both the individual and group levels, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteAdam, just to enlarge a little on my last comment:In general, people make a decision to act when they feel it will be validated by others and supported by them as well. This doesn't rule out individuals acting alone, even if means going against the group, but the former dynamic is more the norm. In short, technology alone doesn't determine behavior but the use of technology in ways that enables personal and social dynamics.
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