Published Monday, September 1, 2008 at 16:00
by
carl0s 
in Debate (635 views and 2 comments)
Political parties primarily use the internet to win votes. A secondary purpose is to galvanise and mobilise supporters. In a previous posting, I argue that many conventional approaches to internet campaigning ignore these simple conversion metrics and try to apply glossy promotional techniques which alienate, bore and patronise the general public - especially a public experiencing tough economic times.
We have to acknowledge that a large part of the electorate are not interested in reading about politics on the internet. Pornography and shopping are the real generators of internet traffic and revenue, and this is not likely to change, despite online video continuing to gain in popularity. Blogs have mushroomed in numbers, but despite the vibrancy of some, a US study recently revealed that only 56% of American internet users actually read political blogs. Of these, only 17% were under 21 years old - and all of these users tended to stick with the same one or two blogs on a regular basis.
It appears that blogs are often literally preaching to the converted, but this is not always the case. In the UK the most popular blogs have tended to be written by conservatives from a center-right perspective. It's certainly true that the readership of these is not necessarily right-wing - showing how wider popularity can be gained amongst the public through quality writing and coverage of interesting topics.
The question, then, is how anything as apparently... read morePublished Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 14:40
by
carl0s
in Debate (777 views and 7 comments)
Politicians are now expected to use the internet as a matter of
course. This process has been led by the United States, where in
most elections, there is usually a "President of the Internet
Moment." This could refer to a politician who gains fleeting
popularity from using the internet in a possibly innovative
fashion, or enlisting a keen following of bloggers and posters to
evangelise online.
Professional usage of the internet and its capabilities does not
guarantee political success. Arguably, the more slick and managed
the presentation, the less impact is generated. The online world
seems to be attuned to phenomena rather than propaganda. In
Europe, internet traffic sits outside the world of mainstream
political culture, it's hard to find examples where
conventionally formulated political communication strategies have
been successfully translated onto the web.
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