The Internet and Politics

Paper Summary:

This paper relates that, as a result of the power of the 2004 election bloggers, most political campaigns today have an Internet strategy. The paper points out that the stratospheric rise of presidential candidate Barack Obama is a testimony to the power of the Internet and its ability to rally young people who do not belong to the formal party structures. The paper discusses the impact of the Internet on politics and political campaigns and suggests that that, because of the Internet, political power has shifted to the common hands of thousands of ordinary independent Americans bloggers.

From the Paper:

"The Internet also provides a sense of control for those who feel powerless. Rather than merely consume political media, the Internet permits the individual to disseminate editorial material, unapproved of by the candidates, in an unedited form (unlike even a letter to the editor of a major newspaper). Yet this intense personalization, also suggests that one of the assumed positives about the political influence of the Internet, namely creating connections between like-minded people unrecognized by the system, might be doubtful."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barack Obama. (2007). Myspace.com 2007. Retrieved 19 Jun 2007 at www.myspace.com/barackobama
• "I got a crush on Obama." (2007). You Tube. Retrieved 19 Jun 2007 at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU
• Davis, Richard. (1999). The Web of Politics: The Internet's Impact on the American Political System. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Klam, Matthew. (26 Sept 2004). Fear and Laptops on the Campaign Trail. The NewYork Times Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/26/magazine/26BLOGS.html?ex=1182398400&en=cd6121c26c9b8e9f&ei=5070
• Palfrey, John. (2004). Internet Politics 2004: The Good, The Bad and the Unknown. Retrieved 19 June 2007, from http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/184

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