How the Internet Has Changed Politics Forever

Back in 1989, the world wide web did not exist.  The internet itself was in its infancy and discussions were held thru newsgroups and bulletin board systems.  Former President Ronald Reagan had this to say about computers and the use of them. 

“Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders, the Goliath of totalitarianism will be brought down by the David of the microchip”

Now 18 years later the internet has evolved into an unstoppable force of nature. It's effect on politics has been explosive. This past election and the 2-3 years prior, has shown the huge part the internet has played  in bringing candidates to the forefront of millions of people. The world will not know the full effect that the internet has on government and the political climate for many years to come.

The internet has already had some enormous effects on American politics and it will certainly continue that way for years to come. The only thing people can be certain of is that a new age has dawned on American politics, and it will never be the same again.

Take this past presidential election,  barackobama.com has more than 3 million members who have entered themselves into his database. These are people who have given names, phone numbers, email addresses. These are the people who helped catapult him into office. Three million people, donating money, volunteering, getting his message out to others.  All of this information gathered, can be used well after the election.  During the campaign, this database of supporters not only donated millions of dollars, they volunteered time and reached out to others to support OBama. The internet played a huge role into the success and subsequent election of Barack Obama. Take a look at his chart:

 

To put some things into perspective and realize the enormity of the role the internet has played in political campaigns, MySpace and MTV had "candidate forums" these were one on one with the people, candidates talking directly to them via the internet.  Over 11 million people viewed Barack Obama. Let me say that again, 11 million people! The above chart also shows Myspace friends, which is just one of the social networking sites that have exploded with politicians the past few years.

Google(owner of YouTube)  has positioned themselves as a major force in shaping American political policy (and by extension, have a far reaching global effect). Google, through YouTube especially, has given candidates an extremely cost-effective way to reach millions of potential voters. The same can be said for MySpace, Facebook, and other social networks. They attract huge groups of people and allow candidates a venue to reach many at one time.

Another very big effect that the internet has brought into the political arena is the web blog or as they are called "blogs". A blog is simply a web based journal about a topic that the author has a certain interest in.  Blogs have been around since the inception of the internet but did not become popular until around 1999. George W. Bush and John Kerry maintained blogs during their campaign trail. They used the blogs to debate issues and keep people informed of events they were holding.  The exact number of blogs in existence is unknown but a rough estimate has put the total over 50 million.

One of the most common uses for blogs in the political community is commentary. Authors of these blogs use them to publicize their viewpoints and opinions and allow others to lend debate. The ability to reach out to people across the globe through these blogs, videos and the like will only grow.  The vast numbers reachable for so little is the wave of the future in politics.  In addition, the effectiveness in being able to collect campaign contributions 24/7,  sign up supporters, use email, social networking, and text messaging makes the internet the wave of the future, one with endless possibilities.

Very soon those who have not yet jumped on the internet bandwagon will be left in the dust of the tremendous force of this digital world in which we now live. 

Speak Now America! we want to hear from you.