Social Media and Politics

        Social media is a perfect way to reach a younger audience to influence and inform about politics.  Without social media, many people that do not watch the news to get informed would know very little about elections.  Like myself, I do not know a great deal about politics but with social media, I am able to learn more about what campaigns are involved in the election and what each of those campaigns has to offer.  I may watch television enough to view commercials of different campaigns and possibly see a glimpse of the debates but am still not fully informed with every political view.  With social media, I am able to learn more about politics in a way that grasps my attention and can read other peoples perspective o political information.  

        Social media is an ideal way for Americans to get their political information because, for one, it is an easy way to be more selective with the information one wants to access.  Instead of turning on the television and watching every ad, every debate, every speech, the internet can allow one to choose just what they are wanting to view, instead of siting through every single minute of the entire election season.  

        "President Obama was the first candidate to announce his White House run via Web video and his vice presidential pick by text message."  This shows that things are certainly changing due to social media within politics.  This is something that never would have happened as recent as a few years ago.

       Within the entertainment world, most people recognize election time when there is a constant stream of political ads on television.  With social media rising in popularity with the public, politicians should be looking into integrating social media campaigning into their original campaign plans.  The candidates that use advertising in television, radio, mail, internet, etc. and add social media to this list will reach an even greater audience than before. Keep the original ways of communication advertising, but add social media.   
        
        With social media, staying connected with the public is much easier than before.  With the help of social media, campaigns can easily "tweet" or "update their status" regarding information about events and demonstrations.  This is much more convenient for political organizers than standing on a street corner to pass out fliers.

       There are now even political apps to make staying connected even more convenient.  These apps include, The White House which allows one to stay connected directly from the administration at the white house, Parity Politics which delivers real time polling updates without any bias toward a certain political party, and the Super PAC App allows one to find out information about political television advertisements just by holding up your iPhone while the commercial is being played. This will tell who is behind the ad, how much money was spent on the ad and more.

  
 With social media, staying connected and informed in the political world has never been so easy.  This is very good for America because the more Americans are informed and educated about politics and the United States, the better.   

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/969537/best-political-apps-for-the-iphone
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/02/04/5-ways-new-media-are-changing-politics?page=2
http://www.localvictory.com/communications/political-social-media.html