Political Uses of the Internet

The internet has made the lives of millions of people and businesses less complicated. Work and personal mail can be distributed faster, and information is just at the touch of a button. Knowing this information, it is no surprise that polititians have jumped on board to utilize these tools for the benefits of the campaign.
The benefits of using the internet for campaigning purposes are numerous. Alot of the tools are free to use, such as social networks to include email, myspace, facebook, youtube and blogging sites. Subscribers can view the information at will, make donations via credit card and be privately active in the campaign of thier choosing. They can sign up to recieve weekly updates on the issues, and remain current in the debates. This past presidential election, Barack Obama was able to raise more funds in small increments in this manner. Sixty percent of his 193 million dollars came from donations of a hundred dollars or less via internet (Washington Post, Jose Vargas 4/1/2008).
Another benefit for using the web for advertising/informational and fund-raising purposes is that it levels the playing field. Some candidates may already have deep pockets, whereas others are struggling to gain backers. The elections of old, the people with alot of money have always won, and now the future of elections dictate that the citizens have more say, and can contribute freely anytime. In my opinion, another benefit of the internet campaign is that the ordinary citizen doesnt see an act all the time. Everyone thinks a person in a position of power isnt human; they dont react to sticky situations or have biases like the rest of us, right? Wrong. Youtube is a website where anything goes; people post thier happy, embarrassing,sad and fun times on this site for the public to view. Anyone in politics who says the wrong thing or falls in public is sure to be seen or heard; if it gets posted, millions of people have access to that footage.
The downside of this political use of the internet is that everyone has access to it. People have the ability to scam each other, to say or write harmful slander. One ill-tempered posting online could jeapordize an entire campaign. Whats worse is that they know it, and use the internet as a ploy to undermine each others character. From this past election alone, if you go one youtube.com and type in Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin, you get a tool bar of at least 5 different postings of embarrassing, hurtful videos. These include Hillary Clinton farts, Sarah Palin rap, Sarah Palin Turkey, Hillary Clinton song ect. Online is an unregulated territory , so those who participate in slander or verbal cyber warfare on a candidate will most likely go unpunished. the final downfall to using the internet during a campaign instead of watching the news is that if a supporter never researches the people they dont want to support, they will only get one side of the story, and will be biased in information. This could lead to poor decisions on the part of the voter, which it goes without saying that this could jeapordize our country in more ways than I can mention. It is important to stay impartial, and listen to both sides of any arguement, especially when it is our freedom that is at stake.
I am not sure how to forsee the future of the internet or even campaigns using the internet in the next few years. I have a pretty hard time keeping up with technology these days, due to the fact that it is ever-changing.I just hope that someone can regulate this to make it fair game for everyone. One rumor, one lie can ruin a reputation, and the chances for a better future for everyone.


campaignsonline.typepad.com 11/7/2006
www.washingtonpost.com "Campaign USA: With the Internet Comes a New Political Clickocracy" Jose Vargas, 4/1/2008