Obama's Election Campaign And The Integrated Use Of Social Media
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publisher
Murdoch University
Faculty
Faculty of Education and Arts
School
School of Communications and Arts / Centre for Research in Entertainment, Arts, Technology, Education and Communications
RAS ID
10134
Funders
Australian Research Council
Grant Number
ARC Number : LP0990807
Abstract
When Barack Obama won the 2008 US Presidential election he did so partly as a result of harnessing the power of social media to communicate with, and enlist the support, of millions of Americans who had never previously been active in the processes of an election campaign. As a result of Obama’s invitation and his use of new media, some of the poorest members of the world’s wealthiest nation found themselves able to make a critical contribution through a myriad of small activities starting from seemingly inconsequential choices such as the selection of a mobile phone ring tone. Although “people power” is not a new force in politics, the Obama campaign set a fresh benchmark for inclusive ways in which to communicate to and with a holistic cross section of the American people, including many who would not have been previously seen as a critical “target market”/ This paper examines Obama’s use of integrated communications and considers the potential implications for other campaigns which may have an inclusion agenda.
Access Rights
Free_to_read
Comments
Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on cultural attitudes towards technology and communication. Held on 15-18 June, Vancouver, Canada. Available here