Did Social Media Decide U.S. Presidential Election?

A good (and short!) read.

Right from the primaries, the Obama campaign showed how powerful harnessing the Internet and mobile devices could be. Supporters were encouraged to set up their own blogs, download chat and social network avatars, site widgets, and wallpapers, phone bank for the campaign from the privacy of their own homes, and, of course, donate. The campaign’s reach across social networking was enormous in scope, with a presence on every conceivable social network, from Twitter to Facebook, and MySpace to LinkedIn. Even virtual world SecondLife had a concerted effort from the campaign, with news updates piped in from major news sites throughout the campaign. The campaign leveraged mobile as well, with SMS messages to subscribers, mobile apps, and phone calls.

It would be really interesting to see Malaysia’s next elections, and whether our less net-savvy politicians would wake up and realise the need for them to engage with the rakyaton new media.

Click here for the full article.