#Election2012

The most interesting connection between class and real world had to be the use of social media during the last presidential election. Not only did each debate have its own hashtag, but I could easily look at Twitter and Facebook and see that everyone was watching it. I know that Obama will go down in history as being the first African American president, but in social context, his use of social media made him historically important as well.

Obama is not just a person, but a brand of beliefs and labels. "Hope", "Change", and "forward" may have had different meaning before the 2008 election, but now they represent his brand. If you mention those words to just about any American, they will automatically associate them with Mr. President. Words like these were used as hashtags on Twitter so followers can organize themselves and hear what others have to say.

Following the first debate, I noticed that Mitt Romney had a promoted hashtag for his campaign. The next debate, Obama urged people to hashtag #Forward. The use of social media in the last election was just astonishing. The biggest change between this election and the previous was use of promotion on Facebook and Twitter. I may have just been oblivious, but I feel like sponsorship of Twitter and Facebook is a fairly recent thing. When I'm on Facebook, I often see promoted posts that are not from friends, but from advertising agencies. During the election, I noticed that each of the candidates took turns plastering their message all over my minifeed.

Although I admire technology for advancing this far, I am also a bit concerned. Instead of being an honest election where we vote on who has the best idea, I'm worried that people have voted for whoever had the best marketing. This type of marketing can be positive if it promotes honest beliefs, but it can also be dangerous. It's almost impossible to distinguish the brand from what the candidates actually believe in. Were the hashtags actually promoted by the candidates, or was it a second party? Were the hashtags meant to rally support or to build up peer pressure? Did people vote because they valued a candidates ideas, or were they just impressed with their use of hashtags on Twitter? It's hard to say. I am impressed with this advance, but I also worry about it's potential effects on politics.