Monday, June 15, 2009
Social Interaction on the Internet!
Social Activism on the internet is becoming a more and more popular use of the internet. On of the biggest examples I can think of is Moveon.org. It is a PAC that raised money for liberal candidates and over the past year ran a huge Obama campaign and helped spread the word to young people nationwide to get out and vote. With record high turnout number in this election I wander if Moveon.org had a significant role in those numbers? What are your thoughts?
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I think MoveOn made an extreme push to get the liberals into the White House. I remember them being out in full force for the Bush/Kerry election trying to promote "Know Your Rights In The Polling Place." Their grass-roots approach is perfect for the internet. On a side note, one of my high school friends runs a political Facebook site. I can't think of the link at the moment (and I can't check for it because Facebook is blocked here at the high school), but her name is Erin Neff. She's deep into the Nevada Democrat scene. It is interesting to see her posts and the people who respond to her daily activities. Apparently she gave up a prominent writing position at the Las Vegas Sun to run this website!
ReplyDeleteSo, to answer your question, I think the internet has played a BIG ROLE in political activities. Just look at how much $$ Hilary and Obama raised through their website for their campaigns! Without such websites, I doubt they would have received as much cash.
I have never heard of the MoveOn.com site, but the internet has greatly increased political activism, especially when it comes to the younger generations. The internet is easily accessable which is esepecially convient to younger people. The fact that more young people like Kristen's friends are especailly interesting in politics is not a bad thing in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for MoveOn.com e-mail updates when I was in 7th grade and started following politics. It was right before the super controversial 2000 election, when George W. Bush "defeated" Al Gore.
ReplyDeleteMoveOn has become a significant political player, I think, primarily because of how candid the organization is with its views. It will never sit back on an issue or take a middle-of-the-road perspective.
Before the 2004 election, the group, staunchly against the War in Iraq, took out a full-page ad in the New York Times with the headline "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The sub-heading read "Cooking the Books for the White House"
General Petraeus is now a revered public figure, but this is just one example of how aggressive MoveOn is on the political scene.
Here is the ad:
http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/09/10/moveonpetraeus.jpg