Public Looking for Political Information Online

by Brian Reich | 21 Sep 2006, 2:00am

There is lots of news today to suggest that a growing number of people in the United States  are looking for political news and information online.

The Pew Internet & American Life released  a memo/study  saying the number of people looking online for political information is at its highest point ever, a big deal given we are in a non-presidential year election with voter turnout in many places coming in at depressingly low levels.   They write:

On a typical day in August, 26 million Americans were using the internet for news or information about politics and the upcoming mid-term elections. That corresponds to 19% of adult internet users, or 13% of all Americans over the age of 18.

This is a high-point in the number of internet users turning to cyberspace on the average day for political news or information, exceeding the 21 million figure registered in a Pew Internet Project survey during the November 2004 general election campaign.

In addition, the Wall Street Journal has two articles this morning about new ways that the public can access political information online.   The first article highlights how social networking sites devoted to politics are popping up, focusing on a handful of relatively new projects like HotSoup, Essembly, and MorePerfect.   They also note a shift among the big players in the space towards political topics.   They write:

This month, Facebook, a social networking site with more than 9.5 million members, launched an Election 2006 network, creating stock profiles of around 1,400 candidates with basic information like their name, office, state and party. Facebook, of Palo Alto, Calif., then reached out to the Democratic and Republican National Committees to encourage candidates to expand on them. The site also launched an election “Pulse” feature that ranks candidates in various races according to how many Facebook members who have elected to support at least one politician support that candidate.

And a number of political candidates already have pages on MySpace.com, a unit of News Corp. Len Munsil, the Republican running for Arizona governor, recently asked his 19-year-old son to create a profile for him. “You have to find every way possible to communicate inexpensively with voters, especially younger ones,” says Mr. Munsil, who checks his profile — which features a background photo of supporters waving placards, a head shot and a campaign video — every few days. Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is running for re-election, was pleasantly surprised to find he had a MySpace presence. “We have no idea who put up the MySpace profile,” says a campaign spokesman. “But we would like to be in touch since it is so supportive.” Facebook and MySpace accept political advertising.

The second article discussed how political ads, and other video, are starting to appear on video sharing networks.   They posit this as both an effective way to bypass traditional television (which, in some markets, will compete with the upcoming baseball playoffs, or just may be too expensive for most campaigns) as well as  present a candidate’s case to some different audience groups.   They write:

The technology that’s been flooding the Internet with videos produced by everyone from teenage skateboarders to major entertainment companies also is beginning to affect the political process. Sites like YouTube.com, Google Video and Blinkx.com already are filling up with candidate commercials, news clips, interviews and even amateur satirical videos.

This new medium naturally opens up new possibilities for negative campaigning and for gaffes to be magnified into major campaign issues. For example, an amateur video on YouTube.com about Montana Sen. Conrad Burns shows him falling asleep at a hearing. Numerous Web sites carried footage of Sen. George Allen, of Virginia, calling an aide to his Democratic challenger “macaca,” considered by some to be a racial slur.

But video on the Web is going beyond mudslinging. It’s also beginning to help inform voters. Numerous TV stations that televise debates are for the first time posting them on their Web sites so they can be watched at any time. Some civic groups are putting short video interviews with candidates on the Internet so voters can make side-by-side comparisons. Startup sites like thepeoplechoose2006.org and election.tv are trying to create video-rich sites that provide information on races throughout the country.

The fact that people are looking to the internet for political information should come as no surprise.   There are still not enough campaigns and candidates waging effective campaigns online, but there are some very encouraging signs from both sides of the aisle.   Still,  there is still more work that needs to be done - by candidates and campaigns, technology gurus, and voters/audiences if the online medium is going to truly revolutionize the political process.  

Right now, the net is mostly being used to push existing content — position papers, television ads, etc. — to new audiences.   While important, and in  some cases effective, this is not full utilization of the medium.   Online presents opportunities to make the political process interactive –  candidates and campaigns have to think about new and different ways to present their content, or better yet, create content that exists only online and recognizes the opportunities for  a different interaction.  

Technology gurus, like those building social networks, have to accommodate conversations about serious issues — and embrace the fact that political conversations are different than conversations about music, movies, consumer package goods, or life (dating, etc.)  that typically drive social networks.   Simply putting people in an online space together and suggesting a political interaction does not a productive discussion make.   Social networks dabbling in the political space need to program aggressively, support networking activities with relevant, timely, and compelling information, and tie those conversations to  voting and other actions.   For example — where is the section on YouTube that allows users to search for political videos by category?   Where is the area of MySpace that allows you to find charitable, advocacy, or political organizations to join and become involved with?   There is so much potential out there that is not being realized.

Finally, the audience needs to demand more.    The consensus is that voter turnout and engagement in the political process is low because the campaigns  don’t reflect the voters interests.   Maybe so.   But the public  shouldn’t stand for recycled position papers and empty-headed rhetoric online.   The public shouldn’t  bark at the moon simply because some blogger says that  is what they should do.   If you are looking online for information and you want to  have your issues addressed, demand more from both your candidates and the technology gurus.   Tell them what you want.

I am encouraged by the growth in interest of political spaces online.   I just want more.

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