Free Website Content - Technology and Politics
Technology and Politics
By Sharon Housley
Americans have always had a say in their government,
at least in theory. Since the Treaty of Paris was signed
in 1783, the United States of America has been the “land
of opportunity,” where even a lowly log-splitter, exercising
sufficient brains and dedication, can raise himself to the
highest executive office. The U.S. Constitution safeguards
the right to vote for every citizen over eighteen years
of age, with few exceptions, ensuring a government of the
people, by the people and for the people. Nevertheless,
only about half of eligible voters historically vote for
their president. Those who do make it to the polls are more
educated than unschooled, more white than black, more men
than women, more wealthy than poor, and more old than young.
This may all be about to change.
American politics has seen a few revolutions
since The revolution that gave our nation its independence.
To date, George Washington remains the only president to
be voted into office unanimously, and since his time the
politician is obliged to win the hearts and minds of the
people. Thus, getting out one’s message has been the quintessential
challenge of the presidential candidate. Initially, office-seekers
relied on stump speeches and the press. Abraham Lincoln
won over his supporters through a series of live debates.
When radio came on the scene in the 1920s, contenders extended
their reach into the very homes of Americans. Votership
surged. The advent of television in the late 1940s transformed
politics once again, directing the focus of the nation to
good looks on camera and message control—getting the perfect
sound bite.
In September 1998 two California-based entrepreneurs,
Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, became frustrated with the political
mess they saw going on in D.C. Feeling very “American,”
they decided to do something about it and launched an online
petition. Within a few days they had gathered hundreds of
thousands of signatures. What they found people needed was
a sense of empowerment—a way to have their voices heard.
Blades and Boyd moved on to form the MoveOn.org Political
Action Committee, an online organization which now boasts
over 3.3 million members. Almost accidentally, Blades and
Boyd caught the attention of the media—as well as campaign
organizers, who sent out bulk emails and created flashy
fundraising websites faster than you can say donation.
But until 2003 internet-use was still a passive venture—another
mailing list, a new type of commercial.
Then in November of 2003 social networking
was born on the worldwide web. MySpace was followed by Facebook
and Flickr in February of 2004, and YouTube joined the family
in 2005. Suddenly it was possible to open a dialogue
with the country without even picking up the phone. Unlike
many tools used by politicians, social networking is cheap
and simple enough for the typical American teenager to operate.
Perhaps best of all is the outreach. For the first time
would-be candidates have tapped into a fresh demographic
of voters, elusive up to this point—the technology-savvy
youth. Before now, politics was the game of Poli Sci grads
and NPR junkies. On the internet, power is in the hands
of real Americans: the housewife in her living room, the
student in his dorm. Rather than creating the perfect ten
second sound bite, candidates must let go and have a real
conversation. Interactive. Up close and personal. Maybe
as candidates are forced back to earth and voters gain a
stake in the process, America will become the voice of the
unschooled as well as the educated, the poor as well as
the rich, men and women of all ages and every race. After
all, isn’t that what democracy is supposed to be?
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and
podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll
http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
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