美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-09-07
时间：2013-09-04 08:02:36
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Technology has taken center stage in this run for the White House. Obama and Romney are using every digital tool available to reach voters. For the president, it even included a virtual town hall forum1 on Reddit, a social news website with just 20 employees but millions of users. With the zero notice, President Obama logged on last Wednesday for an “ask me anything” or AMA. The president answered 10 of the most popular questions, ranging from his thoughts about the space program to who is his favorite basketball player. A lot of users also asked about his thoughts about the drug war, but he ignored the issue. Political observers say his responses probably were not as significant as the mere2 idea itself of the president engaging in a digital town hall forum.
“TV appearances, debates and conventions were sort of the only way to speak to a mass audience. And now there are starting to be other channels, other ways to talk directly or talk in some sort of forum. And I think that can only improve the access and improve the engagement people feel.”
No word yet if Romney will follow a suit on Reddit. His team tried to generate some buzzes for a smart phone app announcing his VP selection, the media though announced it was Paul Ryan before the app did. But it was indicative of the times. And
analysts3 say it helped Romney to connect with a slice of younger voters, and it generated media attention.
“Campaigning is about communication. It’s about reaching people, it’s about mobilizing people.”
So, in that sense, says Berkeley political science professor
Jack4 Citrin, technology has made politics easier. Messages can be targeted across many different sites and devices. Campaign
rhetoric5 can be
disseminated6 much more quickly today with social media. With the benefit of
incumbency7, Obama has a significant head start. For instance, the president has 19 million
followers8 on Twitter to Romney’s 1 million. The president is also seen as a pioneer in using tech.
“Right now in Washington…”
For example, when he took office, he started using YouTube to record his weekly Saturday addresses in addition to the radio. And his 2008 campaign was seen as a trailblazer to harnessing the internet to organize and communicate with supporters. There is also been numerous trips to
Silicon9 Valley. Face book and LinkedIn town halls, and a high profile dinner involving CEO’s including Mark Zuckerberg and the late Steve Jobs.
Aside from the Face book, YouTube and Twitter profiles, the candidates and conventions are also using Google plus, Instagram, Pinterest and Foursquare, services that weren’t around the last election cycle. But Citrin says it’s unclear whether technology truly has an impact on voter behavior.
“What we don’t really know, okay, is how effective any of this is in a direct way on public opinion.”
But 2012 may be seen as a pivotal year in how elections are fought. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
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