Major events and their historical significance

¶ … 2008 Election

Facebook and Presidential Elections

In a recent article for The Christian Science Monitor, writer Gloria Goodale called President Obama "the undeniable king of digital outreach" in the 2008 election (Goodale n.pag.). No candidate before him had had access to the kind of technology available to Mr. Obama and none of his contemporaries made use of the new social media quite like he did. His campaign's use of Facebook separated candidate Obama from the pack during the primaries, although both Mr. Obama and Republican rival John McCain used Facebook during the presidential race. Social media changed the face of the 2008 election and ensured its role on the political scene of the future.

Because Facebook is still relatively new and has only been available during one presidential campaign, little research has been done on its efficacy. Data from Pew Internet reveal that sixty-five percent of social network site (SNS) users -- including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace -- in the 18-29 age group engaged in at least one of fie political activities on a SNS during the campaign. Such activities included joining a political group on a site or obtaining information about a candidate (Vitak et.al 107). Facebook use remains strong and its popularity is growing. It is estimated there are more than 400 million users worldwide (Vitak et. al 108) and it will be interesting to see how it is used by candidates over the next year leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

The use of social network sites was unprecedented in the 2008 election and, as is the case with anything new, the learning curve was steep. For political parties, for candidates, for news outlets, and even private citizens with strongly-held opinions, Facebook and other social media platforms provided a cutting-edge means of disseminating information. It was a particularly popular means of getting information to young voters, who comprised the greatest demographic group among Facebook users. A generation of young voters came to rely increasingly on SNS instead of traditional news sources such as newspapers, news magazines and even television and radio. Facebook offered a way to communicate rapidly in a format with which young voters were comfortable and enjoyed using.