Campaigns on the Cutting Edge Book - Essay Example

Campaigns on the Cutting Edge Book Modern political campaigns have taken a new dimension. In recent elections across the world, many candidates have employed new tactics in their campaigns. All of this in an effort to make sure they come out victorious. Technology has become one of the major influences in elections outcomes. Campaigns have now been integrated to take advantage of modern technology such as internet communication through blogging, social media sites and others. Employing technology has made it possible for candidates to take their campaigns to the next level. In essence, different platforms have been realized in terms of campaigns due to the increased adoption of the emerging technologies. Direct interaction between candidates and voters has increased (Semiatin 29). Candidates nowadays reach out to voters though their social media accounts or even those of their campaign teams. This type of interaction has made the voter feel involved in campaign even though they might not be physical present at the campaigns. Campaign management has been widely facilitated and enhanced through technology. Through modern ways of communication which are cheap, fast, efficient and convenient. A candidate in a different region can be able to coordinate with campaign team in separate regions. Through email, Skype, fast mobile communication and other forms, coordination is easier and efficient (Semiatin 67). It is worth noting that interaction among human beings has been facilitated through the use of technology. Coordination can be done remotely without necessarily being there in person. To some extent, this has resulted to the minimization of resources that could be incurred in terms of transport and food. What is more, this has enabled carrying out activities simultaneously in a wider region, saving time, money and enhancing campaigning. By avoiding unnecessary movements during campaigns, the campaign affair has consequently become cheap and efficient. All this thanks to new technological developments around the world. Mobility has also been enhanced by technology. Increased movement within short duration of time has enabled campaign teams to cover wider regions and in that case attaining their set goals and objectives accordingly. Use of transport systems like the electric trains and air transport has enabled campaign teams cover wider areas and be able to change locations within the same day which would previously be cumbersome and tedious if not possible. Mobility has greatly helped utilize the limited time to the maximum. Saving some considerable amount of time means enough time for brainstorming on the next strategic moves and reducing pressure on the campaign times especially when deadlines and time becomes a constraint. Evolution from party driven to candidate and voter driven campaigns has been achieved greatly through technology. it is worth noting that emerging technology is nearly touching every aspect of life and in that case facilitating means through which other activities are carried out accordingly. Possibility of accessing a wider voter region simply through television is now enabled. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have not been left behind either. Initially campaigns would involve tedious ground coverage through campaign caravans or even numerous expensive flights especially when accessing remote regions. Evolution of cable TV with the easy and cheap accessibility has made it possible and enabled the wider population to only sit at the comfort of their homes and be able to get every single bit of information about campaigns without necessarily attending rallies, leading to easier and more convenient ways of voter mobilization (Semiatin 81). Through embracing of modern digital ways of relaying news and information for example though visual and print media, campaigns have never been this efficient. In other words, the implementation of technology in campaigns has played a great part in determining how different activities are performed. Through posters and countless campaign adverts on TV, many candidates have been able to increase their influence which would previously been impossible considering that some voters could never have heard of them unless through campaign rallies. The growing interest by citizens in political, social and economic affairs of a country has seen a new wave of campaign strategies (Semiatin 98). Through press coverage every single candidate tries their best to maximize their campaign coverage. The new craving for information has seen the media evolve from just a source of entertainment to an entirely new medium of relaying information and holding numerous political discussions that engage the public to the very end. But this has been both an advantage and a disadvantage. Through press interviews and discussions, voter participation has been greatly increased with many getting enlightened, meaning that voter manipulation is a rare thing, with many candidates being tested on their credibility and ability to govern (Semiatin 108). Voters are now able to draw their own opinions and judgments about candidates thus end up voting wisely. Recent campaigns have also seen numerous and smart ways of fundraising and campaign management. As quoted from the CAMPAIGNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics”, meaning it is the backbone of politics. As seen from previous campaigns, the more finances a candidate has the more influence they have. Due to this, candidates have resorted to various ways of raising campaign finances. Through mobilization of volunteers who not only campaign for the candidate of their choice but also help with rising of campaign funds. We can easily describe them as “foot soldiers”. This move has greatly enhanced campaigns though availability of funds. Taking an example of the 2008 and 2012 US Presidential elections, where we saw Obama being one of the candidates able to utilize and take advantage the campaign volunteers to raise campaign funds and help with door to door campaign. This move enabled him to immensely reduce pressure on his campaign team who then were able to find time to attend to other campaign matters. Indirect participation of voters in fundraising, meant voters now had a way of chipping into campaigns which helped ascertain the credibility of the sources of campaign funds (Semiatin 138). This made voters feel involved in the country’s political affairs thus ending up increasing the popularity of the candidates. In recent years, the evolving campaigns have seen new adaptations by political institutions and groups. Women and minority groups have recently become more influential in gauging of election voting patterns. This has seen campaign teams put more effort in trying to leverage their vote by including women and minority groups in their campaign teams or even nominating them to political positions. In the 2012 USA presidential elections, the incumbent was seen trying to influence the voting pattern of the immigrants by proposing to offer them citizenship if they qualified for it (Semiatin 168). This was one move which greatly showed the growing political influence in the minority groups like the African-American, Latinos and the Asians in the USA. Another move was by the opponent who nominated a woman to be his vice president. Research shows that by 2042 the minority groups in the US would be the majority voters in the presidential elections. Putting this aspect into consideration, then it means campaign rules and strategies will have to change and evolve to accommodate this. In the future this will be a major decision maker, means those who would have prepared themselves will be at a better position. Taking into account previous and present trends in voting patterns and finding a way of analyzing them to come up with future trends has become a new strategy for campaign teams. Employing experts and strategists in campaign teams has been a major boost in determining voting trends and patterns. Statistical experts study the growing population, their previous voting patterns and are able to come up with information to determine how they will vote in the future. Having this kind of information it is now easy for campaign teams to change their campaign approach all in an effort to be able to woo as many voters as possible. In 2008 US presidential elections, an African-American candidate was favorable compared to the others. During that period it was quite challenging for the other candidates to convince the majority voters otherwise. Taking into account the number of African-American voters it was not hard to see that with a very small support from other groups it was likely that Obama would capture the presidency. Statistical information is all a campaigning team requires to know what points they will be campaigning with. Failure to carry out enough research on the population has seen most candidates fail to develop a bond with the voters and in the end it has had devastating outcome on their political campaigns and careers. Research helps campaign teams develop strategies to gauge the messages and themes that will work effectively with the current voters. Changing demographic patterns, allocation of resources and even state of the economy, have been a great influence on voting patterns. With the existence of voters who usually feel left out when it comes to resource allocation, then candidates need to come up with new ideas to strategize how this problem can be solved. A move like this may see a candidate capture the vote of that group and this may be the deciding vote to determine who comes out victorious in the end More candidates have now switched to current emerging affairs that affect the population. Citizenship and deportation has been growing issue in the US with many being deported to their native countries if found to be illegally residing in the country. But it is only recently that candidates started addressing the issue and promise to lay down measures to finally end this. It was a major blow to other candidates once Obama mentioned that he would grant citizenship to teenage immigrants who would have resided in the US for some certain duration of time. Being able to realize the current issues affecting the voters may keep a candidate one step ahead of other candidates. All in all, recent campaigns have seen old and irrelevant moves and strategies being shelved to pave way for modern, relevant and more efficient ones. Conclusion Through the use of themes, facts, and symbols, the author of the book has managed to communicate the intended message to different readers. Despite the fact that the book contains various sections, it is well written and contains important information. To the readers, the book presents bravery in the face of domination, and this is clearly shown through the roles played by different characters. Work Cited Semiatin J Richard. Campaigns on the Cutting Edge. SAGE Publications. 2012. Print. Read More