I have been following the US primary election lately.
I am not really into politics, but this thing is BIG. News about the election is everywhere. It’s in the Toronto Star which I try to read everyday, in the CNN online headlines which I subscribe and most surprising it’s in the Taiwanese news which my mom watch when she’s home.
It’s hard NOT to pay attention, and I am not even living in the States!
One presidential hopeful stands out in the crowd…Barack Obama. A man with the thinnest resumes among his opponents, but is generating the most media attention, not only in the United States, but also around the world…a demonstration of the power of the social media. The article How Obama is using tech to triumph (Toronto Star, February 4, 2008) states:
“The Obama campaign’s use of technology, particularly social networks and the Internet, make Canadian political parties’ online activities appear positively primitive by comparison.
The campaign’s website, which can be individually customized, includes supporter blogs, videos, local events and myriad ways to contribute or participate.Obama has also emerged as a powerful presence on social networking sites. The official Obama Facebook support page has more than 300,000 supporters. A similar presence has nearly 250,000 MySpace friends, and on YouTube, the Obama channel has been viewed nearly 12 million times.
The cumulative effect of this substantial online presence is to connect with youth on their terms and in their environment, fostering a new generation of politically active supporters.”
What the article fails to mention is the fact that Obama is also gathering another huge fan base through the social media—people outside of US, people who CANNOT vote.
Obama puts all clipping of his lecture, rally or television performance on the YouTube. These materials provide an easy access for foreign media to pick up the footage and broadcast them.
Taiwanese media always cover the US election about two or three months before the actual voting. They sent crews to the States to get first handed interview or coverage, and pay special attention on each candidate’s Taiwan vs. China policy. However, never once in my life had the stations cover the news this early in the race. Yesterday, the Taiwanese news stations spend 12 minutes in the hour long news, telling their audience who is Obama, and how his win on Super Tuesday would be significant to the US election history.
Taiwanese media was able to air this special feature, not because they had a crew in the States already. They are able to pull this off because they use Obama’s clipping from his YouTube channel.
Japanese media is also crazy about Obama, and had been following Obama’s movement since November of 2003. Because of the media influence (both social media and regular media), Japanese translation of Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, had already sold over two million copies. There are also fan clubs across Japan, supporting Obama from the other side of the pacific.
Following clip shows how popular Barack Obama in a Japanese town, also called Obama:
Due to the power of social media, Obama’s face and name traveled quickly around the world. Based on the number of hits on his videos and the media coverage he is getting, he is indeed very popular.
However, he still has a long way to go, he still need to charm the people who can actually vote.
1 Comment
March 8, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I have been watching the Democratic race for some time and it’s a treat to watch.
I applaud Obama’s use of social media to get his key messages across. Canadian political parties can learn a lot about the benefits of social media by following the Obama campaign.