I have Facebook and
Google+ friends from all over the political spectrum: Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and
Liberals. Some posts have helped me to
be a more informed voter. Discussions
have helped me to clarify some of my own opinions and viewpoints.
I get the impression that
many of my contacts never have conversations with anyone who has political
views different than their own. This is
a mistake if they want to convince undecided voters to vote for candidates that
they support. Each side thinks the other
side is crazy or deluded. The undecided
voters may be undecided because they believe that Democrats and Republicans are
equally crazy and deluded.
My advice for people who
want to use Facebook, Google+ or Twitter to campaign for a political candidate
is to think about what you post. I have
seen posts that may have the opposite effect than the one the poster intends.
If you want undecided
voters to vote for Barack Obama, it may not be a good idea to remind them that
John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 instead of Mitt
Romney. They may believe this was a
mistake. We are not over racism, neither
are we over sexism or age discrimination.
If you want undecided
voters to vote for Mitt Romney, you may not want to list the corporations Mr.
Romney has helped to succeed. They may
have issues with Burger King or Burlington Coat Factory. Many people perceive Mr. Romney as out of
touch with the common person because of his wealth.
Childish posts about how
the candidates performed in the debate may cause undecided voters to vote
against your candidate.
If you already know that
anyone who gets elected to office will be a corporate puppet, please do not
discourage your Facebook friends from voting.
Convincing people that their vote does not count is how the plutocrats
were able to take power a long time ago.
The Internet in general and social media in particular provide
tremendous opportunities to help people become informed voters and get involved
in the political process. Encourage them
to attend caucuses, help draft party platforms, run for local office or even
establish new political parties. If all
of us participated in politics, we might have better candidates running for
office and have a government that represents people instead of money.
