Barrack Obama's Presidential Campaign in 2008 and Web 2.0 Essay

Barrack Obama's Presidential Campaign in 2008 and Web 2.0 - Essay Example The concept Politics 2.0 can be identified as the ideology that social networking and e-participation technologies can be used for modernising the public in seeking, reacting, and influencing political campaigns. As Daniel Nations points out, clearly understanding the communication techniques is the centre of a politician’s arsenal, whereas anticipating the future communication techniques can be the furtive sword for them to win the battle; and â€Å"for Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was radio, for John F. Kennedy, it was television, and for Barack Obama, it was social media† (about.com, n.d.). Politics  2.0 Today the society is highly fused with the network of computers and it has further changed the way one interacts with the Internet. In other words, the time people spent on Internet has significantly changed, and instead of gathering information dumped to them, they reach out to the rest of the world to listen what others have to say on any subject. In the opinion of Kreiss and Howard (2010), Obama has changed the face of politics in America, and as he used Web 2.0 in his presidential campaign, he gave the American people a voice in politics (1032-35). The ideology of politics 2.0 was first used during the political operatives of 2004 US presidential elections, when the enthusiasts of the Draft Clark campaign and of Vermont Governor Howard Dean made use of it. The most recent intervention of the politics 2.0 was seen during the trials of Obama’s campaign. Before launching his campaign, Barack Obama had a firm view that a fundamental understanding of communication had always been the prime tool of a successful politician’s arsenal and having a clear idea on the future of communication is the secret weapon that fights the battle (FC Barcelona). Obama's own social network had turned out to stage a protest of his attitude on a federal wiretapping bill, proving that social networking can cut both ways. Obama was able to shift the campai gn from the classical methods into the digital age by exploiting the advantages of Web 2.0, utilising it as the prime podium of his presidential campaign. He was efficient in turning the Web 2.0 into a major force behind his campaign, diversifying it through YouTube, blogging, and Social networking. Barack Obama and the ‘New Media’ The official website The official website, BarakObama.com was designed efficiently that any user could navigate through the site easily. The presentation and the layout of the website were surprisingly eye-catching with lots of information and continuous updates, which included links to articles, videos and gallery of Barak Obama (BarakObama.com). Moreover, the website did not remain just as a presentation, instead it was a multifaceted platform where the viewers could make calls in supporting Obama, volunteer programmes, or donate to the fundraising events. In the same way, the ‘My.BarakObama.Com’ section of the website enhanced a special platform for the youngsters who are already on the social sites, allowing them to create their own blogs or groups within the website with access to photos and videos. Social Media Social media can be considered as the living environment or necessary tool for the youth, where a lot of marketing strategies seem working. From the records (Guido, 2011), the social media network created by the campaign team contained about 3,500,000 friends for Obama, besides having the huge online subscriptions on