week 10 - internet politics

the advantages of using the internet as a political campaigning tool is tremendous! the power of the internet lies in the vast amount of people it can reach. basically, the whole world/country/state. whichever the politician is vying at. blog/website/video/speech. anything that they place available online is going to spread and can be seen by millions of people worldwide. therein lies the power. moreso, is the ability to craft the tools, the service, the input.. the possibility of a carefully thought out site that can reach out to even people who are opposing you. In addition, the internet can help generate funds for the campaign! just a simple button with a short respectful plea of a donation. and viola! no need for fundraising..

However there are limitations to campaigning online. (as there are for everything on the internet) 1stly, it's not so much a free world as we realized.. people have been sued and jailed for a slight remark in their blogs.. and so on. even in the US, there are people who could easily hack into your political site and create a virus linked to it. the worst thing i think, is the lack of personality. everyone knows that the site would not be created by YOU the politician. everyone knows that the words/tools/services up there were probably thought up by someone else in your campaign team. what is missing is the HUMAN TOUCH. ultimately, people want to see you. see if you're likable, and if you're reliable. and frankly, the cold vast internet is not going to show that.

i think generally us young people are just nonchalant about politics because it's so hypocritical. (well, i feel that way anyways) it seems like just a bunch of people vying to RULE! and for that they create a show, an act, make promises. and then the country is split into 2 or 3.. and they just fight it out, sometimes blackmarking each other, putting down each other. i dont think that's what a group/country should be about...