From those first famous moments when Bill Gates described the Internet as “…just a passing fad” to the enormous digital monster it’s become today this particular discussion and advertising medium was eventually bound to be embraced, perhaps even abused, by political candidates from all corners and parties of the United States. Never before has there been a medium that allowed candidates to instantly reach tens of millions of voters in the comfort of their own homes and on such a wide variety of communication devices – from cell phones and iPads to desktop computers and Internet ready televisions.
What was once just a fad for politicians has become a critical electoral and campaigning tool with candidates from both sides of the divide vying to control online real estate like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook. Some candidates such as Senator Ron Paul have even taken things a step further by avoiding the fund raising and ensuing spending campaign advertising frenzy which most presidential candidates pursue. Instead he favored the use of the Internet and more specifically Internet video to spread his message to potential voters all over the United States. Sadly Senator Paul was not elected President – the current financial crisis the US is experiencing right now would never have happened if he had been.
So does the future of US politics rely on the power of the Internet? Well in a way folks it does because in a true democracy (from the Greek words demos meaning “people” and kratos meaning “power” or power from the people) the voice of the people truly does count and for the first time in known human history all free peoples from all over the world have been able to voice their feelings in the most public possible way and often win popular support by doing so. Current political candidates are starting to embrace the true power of what promoting your political message online and electronic voting can mean for your overall campaign – and it’s not just about the money saved over the use of traditional advertising media.