Social Media and the 2012 election

Twitter is a fantastic tool for social media, but we have seen so many examples in recent years where it has changed lives. Though it can usually be more dangerous for the likes of athletes and celebrities who don’t have an army of wranglers making sure they only say harmless things (or have interns doing it for them), Democrats like Barack Obama and Anthony Weiner show the extremes for what it can be a for a politician, both a meeting ground to connect to a potential voter and a trap that can magnify your discretions for the entire world to see. “Is social media a fad” mentions that 96 percent of generation X is on social media. This was the age range that is considered to have won the election for Barack Obama. If he cannot make that magic happen again, and a GOP candidate that can get a strong following on social media – which is a tool the Tea Party has already proven to be willing to use, they can forge an upset on Obama. Twitter will also be a battleground for propositions, I believe. Things can spread on twitter like wildfire – as seen in the race for the Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy’s death – and dueling sides can easily post their information and arguments in little retweetable sound bites for the masses to recirculate. Finally, I think individuals incumbents will have to make social media a priority in their campaigns, because the people challenging them for their seats can easily sway voters away from career politicians through effective use of social media.

However, we must bear in mind that while having a strong social media following is wonderful for helping to endear Gen X to your cause, it won’t solely win you an election. The majority of votes come from people on the other side of fifty, and can still largely be stalwart about not joining social media. This is why one of the most shocking facts in the information presented was that the largest demographic that is increasing its social media presence is women ages 45-55. If this continue, we will begin to see every election won and lost on social media, and social media become the new stump. I just don’t know if we’re there yet.