Campaigning in the 21st Century

Up until recently, a simple voters pamphlet was the way many Americans received valid, printed information about candidates. Newspapers and TV have also provided background information about candidates for many years, but neither of  these formats provided the abundance of information (true and false) that the internet currently carries to the majority of homes, business’s, schools, and now personal cell phones. The most important element in-terms of finding truthful information continues to be the source and now (thanks to the internet) we have millions to choose from! Like many other technologies, the burden is on the consumer to choose what he/she thinks is best.

I’ve always preferred to view technologies such as campaign websites as being neutral. Yes, I can appreciate the amount of information that is available by simply moving my fingers around a computer, but having access to more information only causes me to be more indecisive about what I think is right. The model that was formed around the Dean campaign was especially appealing to me because it shows that face-time is still the most important factor when it comes to a political campaign.  Using internet technology as a catalyst for providing preliminary information and a sign-up process was highly effective and will likely be used over and over again. Other methods of attracting visitors and donations, such as those implemented on the Bush and Kerry websites, often lead only to more confusion and frustration for those who are unable to view the site correctly or find the information they are looking for.

For several years I’ve been interested in the phenomenon of website creation. Because it only takes a young child and a capable computer to publish, it has become quite common for people who have very little experience to be employed as content creators. Another low paying technology job at many small companies and especially campaigns is product testing. In some cases these people are just volunteering instead of donating to the campaign.

The idea of a web presence stood out to me while reading several articles about campaign websites. Wikipedia had a definition that seems to be right in-line with how I think about it. “Web presence refers to the appearance of a person or organization on the World Wide Web”.  This factor is becoming increasingly more important to every person who wishes to be an active member of our capitalist society.

1. Should standards be enforced for creating websites? on what level?

2. How does web presence apply to online campaign sites?

3. What can be done by voters and consumers to premote a higher standard of web presence?