‘The
US Presidential elections have found a new weapon – social media,’ claims a
young enthusiast.
BC: Hey, did you watch the Presidential debates
on TV?
AD: That’s 60s stuff… You should have caught
the action online - it was incredible.
BC: Really?
AD: Reports have it that the first debate
was the most tweeted political event in the history of Twitter, with over 10
million tweets.
BC: I’m surprised at the importance being given
to social media…
AD: With almost 60% of the voters in the US
active on social networking sites, neither party wants to miss out on them...
BC: So, who’s leading?
AD: While there are reports favouring both
sides, Obama is generally considered more active online. He has over 21 million
Twitter followers and over 31 million fans on his Facebook page. These numbers
dwarf those of his Republican counterpart…
BC: Guess he had a headstart, having been
President for a term already…
AD: That’s right. Social media is also
being used as an analytical tool to gather data, like the response of the
public to the campaigns…
BC: So what’s been the response like?
AD: Sometimes, it soars like Big Bird…
BC: What’s that - the eagle?
AD: No, Big Bird is a character from a
popular series, Sesame Street. In one of the debates, Romney had mentioned that
he liked the character – and soon, there were several videos, photos, spoofs
and comments, all of which went viral…
BC: So now, Romney has both the donkey and
Big Bird to watch out for!
AD: He also has the internet to monitor,
because more Democrats have been contributing online - through websites and
smartphones - to see their party win, compared to Republicans...
BC: Perhaps Republicans are more
comfortable with old-fashioned methods of donations…
AD: What’s equally concerning for Romney
are jibes that are creating havoc online - like Romnesia, a term coined by
Obama about his opponent backtracking on his original policies…
BC: I’m sure the social networks must be
lapping it all up…
AD: Absolutely! Likewise, Romney’s ‘binders
full of women’ comment, which was originally intended to explain his search for
qualified women to be part of his team, ended up being parodied on Twitter and
Facebook.
BC: Poor man, so technology does have him
in a bind…
AD: The other big problem is when your
opponent has more followers – they simply take over your hashtag and
‘out-tweet’ you. Apparently, the Democrats have stolen the Republicans’ thunder
at least a couple of times on Twitter.
BC: But the number of fans or followers in
an online forum may not be an indication of the number of votes that a candidate
might get…
AD: Absolutely. Besides, if popularity on
Twitter can decide who’s going to be President, then the United States could
well get its first woman President.
BC: Really? Who?
AD: Lady Gaga. She has over 30 million
followers, which is 10 million more than Barack Obama.
BC: Well, the voters will truly face the
music if that happens…
AD: It’s a bit like the opinion polls
before an election... The final result could simply make a mockery of the
predictions – we’ve seen it happen many times in India.
BC: However, whoever wins the US elections
is going to feel like Superman as he occupies the world’s most powerful chair…
AD: But even Superman has acknowledged that
social media is more powerful than he is.
BC: What do you mean?
AD: Well, news has it that Clark Kent has
quit his job as a reporter for the Daily Planet and has taken up a job as a
blogger in a social network…
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