I know that polls can be inaccurate - they are biased towards people with a fixed-line telephone (rather than just a mobile phone or no phone at all), they suffer from people projecting the response they think the interviewer wants to hear (they may not admit that they wouldn't vote for a black man), and we know that how you ask the question can vary the response you get. However, most polls seem to agree about the outcome of today's US Presidential Election. From CNN to Bebo and even a poll of Americans in the office at FreshNetworks all suggest one outcome - an Obama victory. Okay the Bebo poll did see Paris Hilton take second place above McCain, and there are only two Americans in my office - but the argument holds!
We've posted in the past about the 2008 US Presidential Campaign. Be it Obama's lead in the web campaign during the Primaries, his team posting Democrat strategy discussion online, things we can learn from Obama's use of online communities or what UK politicians can learn about social media from this US campaign. What's evident is that this campaign has been one that has really embraced social media and online communities both as a way to campaign and as a way to engage people on the issues. Both main candidates have embraced social networks and online communities, although nobody probably doubts that it is Obama who has shown real innovation. Using strong calls to action on his site, building and engaging with the community both on his site and where they are, and involving people in the process he has shown a real example of how engagement should work.
My question now is how this might carry on into a potential Obama-Biden administration. How would they use social media and online communities to continue to engage with people when they are in power. Social media can really help engage people when it provides away for them to have a real exchange about things that matter to them, where they can find out information on things they are interested in, share ideas and thoughts with peers and with politicians, report things to them and feel that they continue to be part of a campaign. Whatever happens tonight and whoever wins the election, it is likely that it will be a difficult few years; involving and engaging those who have been such strong supporters to now will continue to be a priority.
Whatever happens, our advice to Obama would be to keep it simple and focus on what has worked so far. Find a way to inspire and involve those who have been passionate about your campaign so far, keeping their enthusiasm and advocacy on side. But move beyond this and think about the ways in which social media can actually help to make your life easier. Whether that's automating and bringing online petitions and discussions on issues, allowing review and comments on policy ideas online and in communities or using social media as a way of getting your message directly to people you are trying to engage and in a medium that really engages them.
Our work with clients at FreshNetworks shows that using social media successfully can really make things easier for them. We've seen this in the campaign - in terms of reach, letting advocates do your campaigning for you or raising money from a broad body of donors. I hope that when in the White House, Obama's team use social media to make it easier for them to meet the new challenges and issues they will have to face in this role. That kind of engagement can only be good for citizens, and it can be powerful for the administration too.
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Some more reading
- United States Election Day 2008 Coverage Online
- US election: Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago confident in his chances
- Using Social Media & Charisma To Brand
- US elections: the best of the rest on the web
- 2008 Presidential Race Tops $1B
- Top 10 election 2008 moments
- US Election 2008: Coming to a computer near you, live, tonight
- Can't Miss This!: Election Day 2008
- Track the 2008 Presidental Election from your mobile phone
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