The Internet’s social networking sites allow candidates the opportunity to network closer to the average citizen than ever before.

Since its inception, the Internet has done nothing short of astounding us. Within the grasp of our fingertips comes a massive flux of information that only a few people decades before could have dreamed about. The “marketplace of ideas” has shown us that even user-based technology like Wikipedia can create reliable blocks of information, easily accessible for the common user.

The Internet is a great tool for politics as well, for candidates and the electorate alike.

For politicians, the Internet’s social networking sites allow candidates the opportunity to network closer to the average citizen than ever before. You can add Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain or Mitt Romney, to name a few, as your friend on MySpace or Facebook.

Once you’re added as a friend, these candidates can suggest ways in which you can help their campaigns, such as volunteering or campaigning. Some will ask if you’d like to be included on their mailing list.

These technologies allow for candidates to fundraise like never before. Grassroots campaigns (like that of Howard Dean’s in 2004 or Ron Paul’s of this election cycle) can also take advantage of the close-knit communities found on the web.

But that’s just the start – the Internet is also beneficial to the average Joe looking to engage himself in civil discourse. Many sites offer users the chance to hone their debating skills in forums related to their political beliefs. They can argue with logic and reason, and create new arguments that others may not have had the chance to think up yet.

Experienced debaters will undoubtedly start up a Weblog – or as we youngsters call them, blogs. Blogs are a useful tool for getting your ideas heard by a mass audience.

Say you support stem cell research grants. Simply write your opinion in your blog, post it, and it’s now out there for others to read (getting readers can sometimes be tricky, but it is possible to do).

Blogs are fast becoming a “new wave” of media, oftentimes replacing the traditional news media as a primary source of information for Web-savvy citizens. This has prompted several news organizations to create their own blogs or to include blog authors in their editorial pages.

Another Internet sensation that has taken off in recent years is the YouTube phenomenon. In case you’ve been living in a cave on Mars with your ears plugged and eyes closed, YouTube is a compilation of videos from a vast assortment of individuals, with millions of videos that were uploaded by people like you or me.

In a political sense, YouTube allows regular citizens to voice their concerns or feelings on issues via Web-based video.

In fact, last fall CNN used this technology to its benefit in two “YouTube Debates,” where users submitted questions via YouTube to presidential candidates.

For the politician, YouTube is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows the candidate the chance to get their voice heard to millions of users. On the other hand, gaffes or miscues are just as easily placed upon the site, allowing those same users to see your mistakes and judge you on them.

Just ask former Virginia Senator George Allen, whose racial remark caught on YouTube probably lost him his reelection bid in 2006, giving the Democrats control of the U.S. Congress for the first time in 12 years.

The Internet is a fascinating tool for political purposes. It can be used to enhance a campaign as well as discredit it. One must also be wary of what they put on the Internet; it will remain there for a very long time. But overall, the Internet is changing the face of politics we see today, allowing a more inclusive citizenry to become better informed as well as more involved.

> Comments