Skip to main content

Blogging the 2012 campaigns

The 2012 campaigns for President have been very interesting in terms of Internent communications and voter outreach. In this article I have collected all of my comments during the past months and years leading up to election day. These are my unbiased honest opinions as an observer, not as a voter. 
I have Blogged on numerous issues, mostly focusing on Internet Political Communications, Political Marketing and Political Issues that I felt passionate about. You can browse though my articles here:  
  1. The problem with political emails asking for money: TV Ads I do not oppose online fundraising, I understand that both campaigns are tapping into their hardcore supporters; The problem is that for the most part both campaigns are asking contributions in order to outspend the opponent on TV air time!
  2. Barack Obama Vlogs on YouTube During the past few days I enjoyed the videos coming from the Obama campaign on YouTube.
  3. #debate politics and new media communications I was quite surprised to read some articles on social media and politics, that suggested TV debates were obsolete, or that it was an "old media" approach to political campaigning. Such smug approaches are missing the point. 
  4. flickr political communications | Obama Vs Romney It is really weird that the Romney campaign does not use flickr as they should in order to attract more views, spread the campaign photos across the web, and drive traffic back to MittRomney.com
  5. Mitt Romney's VP gets "Performance Improvements" I found this update of "Mitt's VP App" on the iPhone. I must say that it made me laugh! A few days before the VP announcement, Mitt Romney gives his VP nominee "Performance Improvements". 
  6. The Obama campaign is happy... Please donate today. Just an excuse to ask for money?
  7. Sending Creative Political Emails Excellent email communications! Simple, to the point & including the opponent's email in the message! Brilliant! 
  8. Obama: Read the smears - Republicans: Read the "facts" There are many rumors online; official campaign sites should not present or re-produce them. Internet political communications should be focused on the message, rather than on the smears.
  9. Romney: Believe in America, Donate The way you create an email newsletter can be proven to be crucial in changing or shaping your message.
  10. Barack Obama Campaign Emails - "(no subject)" What the Obama campaign understands is that you don't need fancy graphics, banner ads, or digital signatures. The above email was "sent out" by the President with "(no subject)" in the title of the email. It has no banners, no photos, no videos embedded.
  11. Campaign Strategies | Obama and Palin facebook posts Sarah Palin concludes her latest facebook note with "November 2012 can’t come soon enough.", while Obama promotes a Strategy update video on: "What We're Building This Summer".
  12. Mitt Romney's campaign logo "the number 2" When you look at it, it clearly represents the number 2. Most noticeably the middle white number 2, but also the left red and the right blue. Isn't it obvious? Any respectable logo designer or copywriter will tell you so!
  13. The GOP YouTube contest not Moderated on YouTube Yet another example of a safe political communications strategy in trying to copy-paste tried ideas. This has already been done before, it's not innovative or cool anymore, and by the looks of it, with 3,355 views of the Reince Priebus video in 6 days, the Video contest is not going to be a success.
  14. President's facebook townhall & creative online campaign tactics Harnessing online technologies to engage with people can provide many opportunities for actual communication points; but the candidates need to do one thing first: Actually harness the opportunities and ask supporters to help! That's it!
  15. "Obama" Would Like to Use Your Current Location Maybe the choice of words isn't the best, I think that "Organizing for America" Would like to Use your Current Location is the correct phrasing; but I might be wrong.
  16. "Something Must Change"... really? How is it that change rhetorics are still in use by the White House, is it a sign that change will be the main theme in 2012?
I hope you find the above list both informative and entertaining; looking forward to future blogging concerning election and campaign issues. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

John Kerry and Digital Diplomacy

John Kerry delivered his first remarks as the new U.S. Secretary of State. In his first speech at the State Department, he noted :  "...We get to talk about empowering people through our ideals, and through those ideals hopefully they can change their lives..." This is really important to underline;  given that public diplomacy now has a much more crucial role to play. In utilising new and social media, people now have the opportunity to engage through digital diplomacy.  As Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine has said :  "...we have to introduce more and more virtual exchanges and the use of social media particularly to reach young people where they are..." Secretary Kerry Tours the Ops Center Also, I came across a tweet from the State Department which informed that #SecKerry will be tweeting from the  +U.S. Department of State  twitter account . #SecKerry will start tweeting fr...

Social Media for Communication & Conflict Resolution

I came across an OSCE update on facebook asking: "Can social media help us prepare for peace?" In the new Report " Preparing for peace Communications in conflict resolution " the OSCE explains the role of Social Media in conflict resolution, detailing challenges and opportunities. OSCE/Curtis Budden Definitely recommending reading this OSCE publication. It is great that an Organization such as the OSCE is keeping active in Social Media, and at the same time "Mapping the blogosphere, reporting on negotiations, using social media to overcome divides" . Credit to the OSCE PPIS, Ireland’s 2012 OSCE Chairmanship, the US Mission to the OSCE and the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the OSCE.  Having worked for the OSCE in 2009 , I launched the official OSCE presence on facebook and twitter , along with Issuu . It was an excellent start, and I am happy to see that the team in PPIS are keeping up with the OSCE presence in Social Media and are launc...

#debate politics and new media communications

I must say that I enjoyed watching the first debate between the nominees for President of the United States. It was quite clear from the start that Romney was in charge, and President Obama seemed settled in reciting talking points. Some of my tweets included:  To start, disappointed with @ barackobama - @ mittromney is doing a good job. — Vas Gkinopoulos (@VasGk) October 4, 2012 hmm @ mittromney is definitely in control of the #debate — Vas Gkinopoulos (@VasGk) October 4, 2012 I was quite surprised to read some articles on social media and politics, that suggested TV debates were obsolete, or that it was an "old media" approach to political campaigning. Such smug approaches are missing the point. The statistics show 10.3 million Tweets in 90 minutes. An amazing number that not only is a first in presidential debates, it makes the #debates more dynamic than ever! So I look forward to the next 3 debates for 2012.  Internet engagement makes the #debates ever more impor...