Do blogs matter - for politicians or the public - in the real world?
I began to address this issue in theory in my last post, so I thought I'd tell you the story of my first blogging experience to illustrate the personal and political power of blogging...
In the bloginning, I was trying to decide who to vote for in the 2004 presidential election. I checked out Howard Dean's website, because my cousin, Garrett Graff, was on his campaign staff. And lo, there was a companion website called Blog for America.
"Whyzit called a blog?" I asked.
"Whatsit do?"
Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi on Blogging & Elections
The blog could do many things:
People who claimed never to have been very active politically before found themselves doing the darndest things:
In the end, I think the Howard Dean campaign was more about the blog than about the candidate himself. There was a sense of belonging to a community. The excitement there was palpable, and contagious. Because for the first time in a long time - or for some of us, ever - people felt empowered.
Almost overnight the blogosphere has become a political force to be reckoned with and an essential area of consideration for any political campaign.
- It introduced people from all over the US (& the world)
- It developed its own language that community members could share
- It linked to other blogs, like DailyKos
- It linked to traditional newspapers, both liberal and conservative, and to nontraditional media, like the online news site Salon.com
- It warned readers about errors of fact and logic in traditional news reports, & linked to sources to back this up
- It encouraged readers to swamp online polls like those at CNN's Inside Politics
- It got strangers to gather together in real life through Meetup.com
- The blog could see all news stories in all media at all times because the blog was made up of thousands of people
- The blog sent readers forth at a moment's notice to call, write & email the traditional media in response to controversial stories
People who claimed never to have been very active politically before found themselves doing the darndest things:
- They brought ideas to the blog - ideas for raising money, getting publicity & persuading voters
- They used their talents to design posters, flyers, & t-shirts, to translate information into the languages of immigrant communities, and to host parties & gatherings in their homes
- They gave of their time to strategize, write letters to voters, make phone calls, knock on doors, hang fliers, & man tables at public events
- And, above all, they blogged
...citizens.
Click here to read a Pew/Internet report on the impact of the internet on the 2004 election
In the end, I think the Howard Dean campaign was more about the blog than about the candidate himself. There was a sense of belonging to a community. The excitement there was palpable, and contagious. Because for the first time in a long time - or for some of us, ever - people felt empowered.
Almost overnight the blogosphere has become a political force to be reckoned with and an essential area of consideration for any political campaign.
Browse political blogs and find one that speaks to you!
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