The Internet is a vital two way communication tool for sharing information and opinions and for building communities of people with common interests and ideas. According to the Greek observatory for the information society, there was a rise in the number of people that connected to the Internet over the last two years. Greek political parties have developed web sites in order to attract new members and improve communication with the public, especially during the election period. In addition, concerned citizens with political Blogs have entered into the political arena and added to the ongoing political discussion. In the past two years online communities and the Blogsphere have become as important as mainstream media, creating a new forum of political debate.
The recent Greek national elections of September 2007 had three very unique characteristics. The pre-election period was very short (30 days) as compared to all previous elections over the last three decades. Two weeks before the election wild-fires spared all-over the country which resulted in raising environmental issues at the top of the political agenda. Political Blogs, by concerned citizens, for the first time raised the environmental problem and linked the issue to the election.
This paper studies and analyzes online political campaigning tools which were used by all five parties in the new Parliament. In addition, the research studies and compares strategies from political action groups and activist Blogs during the pre-election period. These unique characteristics are examined in the effect they had on voters’ perceptions about political parties and their leaders. The research analyzes party websites and candidate Blogs, along with online political forums during the pre-election period. To better map the differences in online strategies, examples are drawn from the recent French presidential election and the upcoming American presidential election.
Finally, conclusions are drawn about the importance of Internet presence by politicians and citizens, in discovering the link of effective online political marketing tools and election outcomes during the 2007 Greek national election.
Vas and Maria
The recent Greek national elections of September 2007 had three very unique characteristics. The pre-election period was very short (30 days) as compared to all previous elections over the last three decades. Two weeks before the election wild-fires spared all-over the country which resulted in raising environmental issues at the top of the political agenda. Political Blogs, by concerned citizens, for the first time raised the environmental problem and linked the issue to the election.
This paper studies and analyzes online political campaigning tools which were used by all five parties in the new Parliament. In addition, the research studies and compares strategies from political action groups and activist Blogs during the pre-election period. These unique characteristics are examined in the effect they had on voters’ perceptions about political parties and their leaders. The research analyzes party websites and candidate Blogs, along with online political forums during the pre-election period. To better map the differences in online strategies, examples are drawn from the recent French presidential election and the upcoming American presidential election.
Finally, conclusions are drawn about the importance of Internet presence by politicians and citizens, in discovering the link of effective online political marketing tools and election outcomes during the 2007 Greek national election.
Vas and Maria
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