The 2012 Election Will Friend You, Tweet You and Poke You to Death

　　美國總統歐巴馬於日前參與了在Facebook的人民大會堂專頁成立大會，這不僅是一個能和民眾產生更多互動與交流的機會，更明顯展現出歐巴馬使用社群媒體的靈活性。歐巴馬星期一在白宮粉絲頁面、YouTube發布了一支30秒的邀請宣傳短片，並在48小時內就獲得超過2萬人的回覆，這個活動同時在臉書、白宮官網、推特、白宮部落格宣傳。然而，在2012歐巴馬的連任保衛戰中，使用社群媒體將不再是他的專利，這一次，共和黨準備參與競爭。2012大選將是活用社群媒體的新里程碑，民主黨與共和黨都將投入更多的資源於其中。

President Obama's participation in yesterday's history Facebook town hall was more than just a chance to answer questions about his Shared Responsibility and Shared Prosperity agenda. It was a none too subtle demonstration of his social media savvy.

Obama issued the invitation to the public in the 30-second video, above, that was posted on the White House Facebook page and YouTube channel on Monday. Within 48 hours, more than 22,000 people had RSVP’d. The event, which was streamed on Facebook and on the White House website, was also promoted with tweeted reminders, and on the White House official blog.

It was that deft use of digital and social media that helped propel him into office, but when it comes to his re-election efforts, this time around, the Republicans are prepared to compete. 

“The notion that the Internet was owned by liberals, owned by the left in the wake of the Obama victory, has been proven false,” commented Patrick Ruffini, a Republican political online strategist, to the New York Times. 

The midterm elections in 2010 showed this to be true, and the field is getting crowded in anticipation of 2012 elections. 

Sarah Palin just launched a new website to make it easier to take online donations, building on her healthy Twitter and Facebook networks, the latter with 2.9 million fans.  

Mitt Romney’s announcement of an exploratory committee and a new website, was made last week via a YouTube video, his Facebook page (845,000 members), and a Twitter post introducing the hashtag, #mitt2012. 

The 2012 election will set a new bar for social media acumen, as Republicans and Democrats leverage and activate their digital bases with equal commitment.

“It is not necessarily that Democrats or young people or liberals have become less active. It is more that older adults, conservative voters and Tea Party activists have come to join the party,” Aaron Smith, author of a Pew Research study and politics and social media, told the Times.

Since Facebook has rewritten the social networking playbook, it was only fitting that CEO Mark Zuckerberg hosted the President — and that they both immediately removed their jackets in a not-so-symbolic shedding of the stiffness of traditional media. 

The Democrats still hold one small advantage that the rebranded Republicans, however, don't yet have — the just released White House phone app, which helps get Obama's message out on mobile. Next move, GOP. 

 

LINK: http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/04/21/2012-Election-Social.aspx