Political Campaigns and the Internet - Essay Example

“Americans spend more time surfing the internet than anyone else in the world, with users clocking up an average of nearly 28 hours a month.” (Paris, 2011). The access time spent on the internet by the American people has caught special attention of campaign planners for political parties and they are now focusing more carefully on website designing, blog generations, personalize emails and podcasts. Social networking sites are also getting more and more attention of these planners because social networking can target specific groups very easily for the fundraising, campaign and convincing.

The Presidency election of 2008 had given birth to new domains in internet driven political campaigns and fundraising activities. The emergence of internet as a new medium of communication and campaign has changed the way political activities were supposed to be planned and carried out in the past. The ‘Change’ slogan was undoubtedly applied forcefully to the use of internet at the largest scale in the campaign of the President Obama in 2008. “One of the many ways that the election of Barack Obama as president has echoed that of John F.

Kennedy is his use of a new medium that will forever change politics. For Mr. Kennedy, it was television. For Mr. Obama, it is the Internet.” (Cain, 2008). The use of internet is beneficial for both the political parties and the audiences and political campaigns are now moving towards the ‘paperless campaign’ arena where there will be not broachers, pamphlets. Sooner or later these and many other conventional mean of political campaigns will turn into obsolete techniques and fast pace of information communication will also take over the political campaigns as well.

The use of internet is specially beneficial because it has reduced the campaign costs dramatically. Internet when compared to other advertising mediums and technique is not only affordable for low budgeted campaigns but also very effective and amazingly fast technology. “The internet is a high-return, low-cost means of dispensing information. Campaigns can establish an internet presence for a very modest amount, compared to the costs of many other forms of advertising.” (Trent, 2008). The audiences of political campaigns are now better off with the introduction of internet and electronic media in campaigns.

The can directly read the written policy statements and agendas of political parties and their leaders. Additionally, audience can easily compare and contrast these policies with those of other candidates in the same constituency. The can get the latest new and updates in a fraction of second without time consuming political gatherings and meetings. Today’s voter or prospect supporter is busier than ever before and the political campaigns consultants are aware of the limitations of their target audiences.

They facilitate their voters with personalize emails for all political update, party stance, voting regulation changes, polling station details and many other information that may save their time and avoid any botheration. The fund-raising is far easier and rewarding through internet then conventional letters and television campaigns. Those expensive and time consuming fund raising campaigns are now replaced with the personalized emails sent to targeted political