Nowadays, the internet has become a medium for political campaigning and political advertising. This kind of online campaigning is gaining popularity among politicians and the internet is frequently used to propagate ideas and also to persuade mass audiences to vote for certain political parties or candidates.
The phenomenon of blogging is not restricted to internet users but is also well-known among politicians. Political blogsphere is increasing and politicians usually use 'to blog' and 'vblog' in order to spread messages to the mass audiences. 'YouTube' and 'MySpace' are two of the most popular websites politicians prefer to use to upload their speeches, make comments as well as answer questions that the voters ask.
Voters will post their questions through online video and the politicians too will use the same medium to respond to what they have been asked. In this case, two-way communication is achieved and a relationship between politicians and voters is also built up. By using these free videos, politicians can carefully craft their messages because there are no interruptions from other journalists.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2007/1924783.htm
In my view, online campaigning helps in saving money as well as saving natural resources, for example, paper. In Malaysia, loads of posters, banners and brochures are used in one election and these propaganda tools are going to last only for a couple of months. How many trees have to be chopped and how many human resources have to be used in order to fulfill the needs of these politicians? I think the Malaysian government and politicians have to consider this issue and online campaigning is a good ideas for them to practise.
Different media serve different needs. By using online media, politicians can reach out to those public who do not use the traditional media. In addition, online campaigning is also one of the most effective ways to spread the word and it has the same assumption of spreading viruses. For example, after a person watches an online video, he or she may spread their opinions or send the link to another person and this process will keep on going and growing. Moreover, peers have a great influence among each other; one thinks in a certain way and the rest will follow what that person thinks too.
The following are some interesting online videos from 'YouTube', showing how the U.S politicians, Hilary Clinton and Barrack Obama use free online video to spread their word to the public.
References
Politics and the Internet 2007, ABC radio, viewed 20 May 2007, <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2007/1924783.htm >
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