Posts Tagged: celebrities

Online media has changed the game of politics.  New opportunities in relation to public promotion and branding have both helped and hurt candidates in recent elections.  “Infoenterpropagainment” is a result of when politicians and the media blend political information with aspects of propaganda, including media or political bias and present it to the public in a way that entertains.  Candidates that choose to ignore this new media platform have not made it very far in their respective run for office.

Everyone knows the great example of the Obama vs McCain campaigns.  Never before had a political candidate jumped on the online bandwagon so heavily and soared to the top as an underdog, eventually taking it all with a White House win.  Sadly, McCain stuck mostly to traditional advertising and promotions, which isolated him from the younger voters found online.

Although most aspects of online political promotion seems positive, candidates need to watch their digital reputations as much as any other medium.  Before, photographers and television crews could uncover tidbits a political figure would rather keep personal about their lives.  Now, anyone can post anything about political figures and the story (true or not) spreads faster than wildfire.  The web provides new channels that keep candidates on their toes.

The public now has a new line directly to those wishing to represent them.  They can post questions on websites focused around discussions held by political figures.  They can follow tweets or “like” fan pages dedicated to those running for office.  Just as society obsesses over the whereabouts of celebrities, political figures are beginning to reach that status as well.  Using online media to promote ones self in the political arena has proved a successful catapult that all candidates must embrace in the future.