2008 Woodie Awards
Politics 2.0
YouTube, Facebook and MySpace put a new spin on the old ritual of electing the new president
Jonathan Gantt
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Features
In 1960, the first televised presidential debates took place, as Richard Nixon faced off against John F. Kennedy.
Until the debate, political pundits and national polls regarded Nixon as the favorite, but after he appeared tired and sickly from rigorous campaigning, the roles reversed, and Kennedy, well- rested with his appearance helped by makeup, became the favorite.
More than 80 million people watched the first debate, and despite stronger showings in the three following debates, Nixon never recovered.
The importance of television in the 1960 election marked a turning point in our country's politics. Now, with the limitless information provided by the Internet and Web 2.0 sites like YouTube, Facebook and MySpace getting involved in the elections, we may be seeing another turning point.
If computer users type in the search phrase "Presidential Election" on Google and clicks on the first result, they find themselves looking at a Wikipedia page, a site well-known to be edited by users.
But Wikipedia is not the only platform for the computer-user to voice his or her opinions and political views.
The outlets available for discussion across the Internet are countless, and bloggers and social networking users can compete with the likes of Wolf Blitzer and Bill O'Reilly to make their voices heard.
On the popular social networking site Facebook, users can add applications to their page or join groups where they can express their political views and support their favorite candidates.
Thadeous Larkin, a senior politics major at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., uses his Facebook page to endorse his favorite candidate, John McCain.
"If someone is yet to support a candidate, it sometimes spurs them to ask me why I support John McCain, and so a dialogue begins outside of Facebook," Larkin says.
McCain's campaign definitely makes use of sites like Facebook and MySpace. On his Facebook profile, users can see videos and news about McCain like other news sites, but they also can see personal information, such as his favorite movies and television shows. It seems McCain and college students, for example, might share a love for "Seinfeld."
Until the debate, political pundits and national polls regarded Nixon as the favorite, but after he appeared tired and sickly from rigorous campaigning, the roles reversed, and Kennedy, well- rested with his appearance helped by makeup, became the favorite.
More than 80 million people watched the first debate, and despite stronger showings in the three following debates, Nixon never recovered.
The importance of television in the 1960 election marked a turning point in our country's politics. Now, with the limitless information provided by the Internet and Web 2.0 sites like YouTube, Facebook and MySpace getting involved in the elections, we may be seeing another turning point.
If computer users type in the search phrase "Presidential Election" on Google and clicks on the first result, they find themselves looking at a Wikipedia page, a site well-known to be edited by users.
But Wikipedia is not the only platform for the computer-user to voice his or her opinions and political views.
The outlets available for discussion across the Internet are countless, and bloggers and social networking users can compete with the likes of Wolf Blitzer and Bill O'Reilly to make their voices heard.
On the popular social networking site Facebook, users can add applications to their page or join groups where they can express their political views and support their favorite candidates.
Thadeous Larkin, a senior politics major at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., uses his Facebook page to endorse his favorite candidate, John McCain.
"If someone is yet to support a candidate, it sometimes spurs them to ask me why I support John McCain, and so a dialogue begins outside of Facebook," Larkin says.
McCain's campaign definitely makes use of sites like Facebook and MySpace. On his Facebook profile, users can see videos and news about McCain like other news sites, but they also can see personal information, such as his favorite movies and television shows. It seems McCain and college students, for example, might share a love for "Seinfeld."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 4
Net castrates hearts and minds
posted 4/03/08 @ 8:02 AM CST
Having watched and lived the JFK/Nixon debates and election, candidates appearances in the debates made much less difference in the election than did the media hype about it which continues today in this article. (Continued…)
AtticusFinch
posted 4/03/08 @ 3:21 PM CST
Well, Nixon certainly believed it played a big part in his losing the election. He did not participate in any televised debates in his campaigns for president in 1968 or 1972. (Continued…)
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