TY - JOUR
T1 - From networked nominee to networked nation
T2 - Examining the impact of web 2.0 and social media on political participation and civic engagement in the 2008 obama campaign
AU - Cogburn, Derrick L.
AU - Espinoza-Vasquez, Fatima K.
PY - 2011/1
Y1 - 2011/1
N2 - This article explores the uses of Web 2.0 and social media by the 2008 Obama presidential campaign and asks three primary questions: (1) What techniques allowed the Obama campaign to translate online activity to on-the-ground activism? (2) What sociotechnical factors enabled the Obama campaign to generate so many campaign contributions? (3) Did the Obama campaign facilitate the development of an ongoing social movement that will influence his administration and governance? Qualitative data were collected from social media tools used by the Obama '08 campaign (e.g., Obama '08 Web site, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, e-mails, iPhone application, and the Change.gov site created by the Obama-Biden Transition Team) and public information. The authors find that the Obama '08 campaign created a nationwide virtual organization that motivated 3.1 million individual contributors and mobilized a grassroots movement of more than 5 million volunteers. Clearly, the Obama campaign utilized these tools to go beyond educating the public and raising money to mobilizing the ground game, enhancing political participation, and getting out the vote. The use of these tools also raised significant national security and privacy considerations. Finally, the Obama-Biden transition and administration utilized many of the same strategies in their attempt to transform political participation and civic engagement.
AB - This article explores the uses of Web 2.0 and social media by the 2008 Obama presidential campaign and asks three primary questions: (1) What techniques allowed the Obama campaign to translate online activity to on-the-ground activism? (2) What sociotechnical factors enabled the Obama campaign to generate so many campaign contributions? (3) Did the Obama campaign facilitate the development of an ongoing social movement that will influence his administration and governance? Qualitative data were collected from social media tools used by the Obama '08 campaign (e.g., Obama '08 Web site, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, e-mails, iPhone application, and the Change.gov site created by the Obama-Biden Transition Team) and public information. The authors find that the Obama '08 campaign created a nationwide virtual organization that motivated 3.1 million individual contributors and mobilized a grassroots movement of more than 5 million volunteers. Clearly, the Obama campaign utilized these tools to go beyond educating the public and raising money to mobilizing the ground game, enhancing political participation, and getting out the vote. The use of these tools also raised significant national security and privacy considerations. Finally, the Obama-Biden transition and administration utilized many of the same strategies in their attempt to transform political participation and civic engagement.
KW - Activism
KW - Political participation
KW - Presidential campaign
KW - Social media
KW - Social movement
KW - Virtual organization
KW - Web 2.0
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951961528&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79951961528&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15377857.2011.540224
DO - 10.1080/15377857.2011.540224
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951961528
SN - 1537-7857
VL - 10
SP - 189
EP - 213
JO - Journal of Political Marketing
JF - Journal of Political Marketing
IS - 1-2
ER -