Dec 19, 2011
The 2012 Presidential Election is already affectionately known as the nation’s first Social Media election. It doesn’t mean we’ll all be able to log in and vote, but it does mean that this year’s candidates cannot underestimate the power of social networking in their campaigns. This applies especially to the Republican Party, which has yet to decide who the candidate will be that will go up against President Barack Obama in eleven months. Republicans haven’t had the best track record with a Web presence and social networking, and as you may recall, the Obama campaign was heavy on the Internet. Today’s voters demand quick and easy access to the latest on their candidates and their positions on the issues.
Now, with the GOP Iowa debates and caucus ready to roll out within the month, and the stakes are so high for Republican hopefuls, social networking is probably more important than it has ever been in politics. Social media is where people are getting most of the information they pay attention to these days, and for good or ill, it’s where any serious politician has his or her best chance of swaying the opinions of the people they seek to represent.
