- Obama collects cell phone numbers & text messages his running mate nominee to the public “before” the media!
- McCain’s political commercials posted on YouTube caused disputes; they were taken off YouTube after news organizations cited the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the commercials violated the news organizations’ copyrights. This New York Times article explains more.
- Twitter, a microblogging site, notes record-breaking tweets during the first presidential debate & creates an entire site devoted to tweets during the next debate.
- Obama creates an iPhone application that allows users to have instant access to his positions on important issues, up-to-date local and national campaign news, photos and videos.
- Users can donate their Facebook status to the candidate of their choice to help get out the vote.
- The public is encouraged to video your vote and post the election day experience on YouTube.
Advancing technology has made this presidential campaign one to remember! Never before have we seen such a high level of social media used in a political race by the candidates or the public. Countless videos have been uploaded to YouTube, articles posted on blogs, opinions tweeted on Twitter and ideas sent through e-mails. How do you think these new trends have influenced voters? Do you think it increased the number of young voters involved in this year’s election? Do you think the VIRAL aspects of these tactics influenced recipients more than if the messages had simply been communicated via radio, print and television like in years past?
Tomorrow will be an important day in our nation’s history, so whether you’re a donkey, an elephant or an independent—get out & exercise your right to VOTE and be a part of history!
P.S. I know these last two posts haven’t been travel or non-profit related, but they were just too good to pass up! I’ll return to those subjects next week!
New Media = New Ideas 