Twitter messages used by the candidates in the U.S. presidential election in November 2012 to mobilize voters, raise funds and campaigning could, for the first time, influence election. Twitter can “influence the national debate”, says Zach Green, head of media studies company 140Elect, which advise politicians about the use of Twitter. “Twitter may inject a message into the national debate, and you can express your opinion on the matter before the article in the press,” said Green for AFP. “You can also enter in a national debate, because Twitter allows candidates to address people directly,” he continues.
According to Tony Fratto, a former spokesman for the White House during the presidency of George W. Bush and director of the consulting firm Hamilton Place Strategies, Twitter can make a difference. “It allowed the campaign teams to reach a maximum number of people very quickly and cheaply,” he told AFP.
“Not only can you address a message to millions of people, but you can also respond very quickly to allegations. Before this, you had to create first a message for television or write a press release,” Fratto said. “With Twitter, immediately after a critical or negative publicity, you can respond immediately and this can cause your supporters react” he adds.
President Barack Obama dominates by far his Republican rival on Twitter, with 18.7 million subscribers, compared to less than 900,000 followers for Mitt Romney. Obama posts ten times more tweets than Romney. But the messages of the latter are often shared and re-twitted, suggesting that his supporters are “more motivated” remarks Green. Jeanette Castillo, a professor specializing in digital media at University of Florida, will study the importance of social networks on the Internet. “It will be interesting to see how it mobilizes people”, she said.
Twitter has emerged only in 2008 and had a limited impact at that time, according to Castillo. It had few users, especially young people, and was not as important as the “old” press. But now, Twitter plays a major role in the “national debate”, given the wave of protests after a congressman statement on “real rape” and after the assassination, a few months ago, of the young black man Travyon Martin, she said. “Twitter is a very democratic platform,” added Castillo. “It’s becoming more and more part of the media landscape and could influence traditional media,” she believes.
According to Fratto, Obama is “completely dominated in 2008” the Republican John McCain, while Romney’s team, in 2012, “has a very sophisticated digital communication strategy.” The president posts messages more often, but they are written in the third person. “Messages should be sent more often to have their voice heard,” he suggests.
According to the research center Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), team Obama “dominates” in digital communication, especially on Twitter, which it uses to address well-defined groups, namely women and Hispanic community members. According to the PEJ’s director, Tom Rosenstiel, “increasing use of digital media does not mean more votes, but that, historically, the candidates who have used the more advanced technical means have an advantage.”
“With the use of radio by Frank Roosevelt, television by John F. Kennedy and communication campaigns of Ronald Reagan in the era of satellites, these candidates have suggested that the use of more advanced technical channels is the mark of a new generation of leaders, more connected to the country, “said PEJ report.
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