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Elections 2.0: Desi Netas Get Obamaized
Techtree News Staff, Mar 09, 2009 1547 hrs ISTHere's how our political leaders make use of Internet
The echo of "Yes, we can!" is resonating in the paan-stained corridors of the offices of the two big political parties of India. The Bhartiya Janata Party, in the Opposition, and the Indian National Congress, which heads the current ruling coalition.
So, as the election fever builds up, one cannot help but notice the lessons our netas are taking out of Obama s book of success.
As Barack Obama blazed his way to the White House with his historical grass-roots campaign, he did the impossible - he caught the imagination of the uninterested youth, the disillusioned middleclass, and the traditional Republican (the other side).
The Obama effect was, of course, a combination of factors: his soul-stirring speeches; hectic on-the-ground campaigning; he picked the right issues and offered plausible solutions (of course his honeymoon period might have ended too soon and there are plenty who are somewhat iffy about the practicality of his so-called solutions); but the one thing he did and did differently was the use of new media i.e; the internet.
As comparisons have been drawn between John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, JFK too, had used the new medium Television at that time as Obama has used the internet. While JFK created what has been called television presidency Obama might just have ushered in a new era of politics of net presidency.
Obama used the internet not only to raise funds, but to advertise, communicate with his constituents, organize supporters, defend against attacks.
He used You Tube for free advertising
http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom.
The internet was used for fact checking where citizens went back to listen/read old speeches.
This medium demands authenticity, and television for the most part demanded fake. Authenticity is something politicians haven't been used to, said US political consultant Joe Trippi in an interview to NY Times.
The use of internet has the potential to change the way politicians govern, it has the potential to increase accountability, access, and, of course, make the political process a lot more democratic and inclusive.
The use of the internet is not so new to Indian politics. The BJP had used the medium in 1996 to mainly raise funds from overseas Indians, as a colleague of mine told me this morning. It was a time when net was a novelty, and connections painfully slow. I remember Hotmail would take an hour to open, and even before I could start replying to an e-mail, it was time to reconnect!
The BJP this time, too, is using the internet to get the net-savy youth involved. L.K Advani (BJP's prime ministerial candidate) , at 81, has started blogging. He was quoted as saying : "My young colleagues who created this website told me that a political portal without a blog is like a letter without a signature. I am excited by the idea of using the Internet for the election campaign."
http://blog.lkadvani.in/
The Congress too is said to be updating its website, and apparently Sachin Pilot, a member of the Congress youth brigade, had or has a blog. I tried googling it, but no concrete results showed up.
But would these blogs and upgradations really upgrade the largely rhetorical campaign into something more concrete and inclusive is yet to be seen.
Whether the use of internet would get the votes, is clearly not my concern. But I do hope that as politicians try to engage us, the electorate, we will grab the opportunity, and enable the change that we want to see.
Source: Shweta Punj, UTVi
So, as the election fever builds up, one cannot help but notice the lessons our netas are taking out of Obama s book of success.
As Barack Obama blazed his way to the White House with his historical grass-roots campaign, he did the impossible - he caught the imagination of the uninterested youth, the disillusioned middleclass, and the traditional Republican (the other side).
The Obama effect was, of course, a combination of factors: his soul-stirring speeches; hectic on-the-ground campaigning; he picked the right issues and offered plausible solutions (of course his honeymoon period might have ended too soon and there are plenty who are somewhat iffy about the practicality of his so-called solutions); but the one thing he did and did differently was the use of new media i.e; the internet.
As comparisons have been drawn between John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, JFK too, had used the new medium Television at that time as Obama has used the internet. While JFK created what has been called television presidency Obama might just have ushered in a new era of politics of net presidency.
Obama used the internet not only to raise funds, but to advertise, communicate with his constituents, organize supporters, defend against attacks.
He used You Tube for free advertising
http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom.
The internet was used for fact checking where citizens went back to listen/read old speeches.
This medium demands authenticity, and television for the most part demanded fake. Authenticity is something politicians haven't been used to, said US political consultant Joe Trippi in an interview to NY Times.
The use of internet has the potential to change the way politicians govern, it has the potential to increase accountability, access, and, of course, make the political process a lot more democratic and inclusive.
The use of the internet is not so new to Indian politics. The BJP had used the medium in 1996 to mainly raise funds from overseas Indians, as a colleague of mine told me this morning. It was a time when net was a novelty, and connections painfully slow. I remember Hotmail would take an hour to open, and even before I could start replying to an e-mail, it was time to reconnect!
The BJP this time, too, is using the internet to get the net-savy youth involved. L.K Advani (BJP's prime ministerial candidate) , at 81, has started blogging. He was quoted as saying : "My young colleagues who created this website told me that a political portal without a blog is like a letter without a signature. I am excited by the idea of using the Internet for the election campaign."
http://blog.lkadvani.in/
The Congress too is said to be updating its website, and apparently Sachin Pilot, a member of the Congress youth brigade, had or has a blog. I tried googling it, but no concrete results showed up.
But would these blogs and upgradations really upgrade the largely rhetorical campaign into something more concrete and inclusive is yet to be seen.
Whether the use of internet would get the votes, is clearly not my concern. But I do hope that as politicians try to engage us, the electorate, we will grab the opportunity, and enable the change that we want to see.
Source: Shweta Punj, UTVi
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ANTARA SENGUPTA
,KOLKATA, on Mar 09, 2009 07:44 PM
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ANTARA SENGUPTA
,KOLKATA, on Mar 09, 2009 07:38 PM
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