Youthanizing the Election Process

With the political season gearing up for the final months of the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama continues to demonstrate his youthful intuition. Boasting a tremendous internet following; including 1.3 million fans via the social networking site Facebook, receiving millions of single campaign contributions, and running Ethernet cables dry across college campuses; Obama is captivating and energizing the ever elusive 18-25 demographic.

Therefore, continuing to capitalize on the 2 main communications tools of young potential voters, Obama’s campaign announced that when a Vice Presidential candidate is chosen, the first to know will be alerted via email and text messages. More often than not, this move has come under criticism from the mainstream media. But, then again, why wouldn’t it?

Mass media outlets are desperate for information. Furthermore, they will go to amazing lengths to have first access, exclusive rights, allowing them to ultimately present the story as they see fit. But, when a high profile, headline grabbing individual takes this power from them, criticism is sure to ensue. The main argument and mass conclusion casts this move as another scheme to acquire countless email addresses and cell phone numbers. Reporters who have taken the opportunity to sign up for the “First to Know” campaign speak to the daily onslaught of email messages from the campaign; including highlights from campaign stump speeches to Obama’s next appearance on the Daily Show.

If Obama’s campaign is trying gain a countless amount of information, then so be it. His seeming opponent in the November election has already taken amazing strides to solidify a never ending information pipeline. With Senator McCain’s continued support of the Patriot Act he allows the government to funnel an abundant amount of our email address, correspondences, and phone conversations to the biggest database known...the federal governments. So even though Obama may gain some valuable information for potential use in driving his campaign to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, at least he is asking us for it.

But, how are Obama’s efforts of communicating his strategy or campaign news any different from mass media and their news updates? Networks from CNN to ESPN pride themselves on keeping you ‘connected’. From CNN’s podcasts for commute time enjoyment to ESPN’s MVP cell phone service through Verizon Wireless, everyone is competing for our individual attention spans. Most major outlets have the easy link to make their respective webpage your homepage, while at the same time, making every effort to market their coffee cups effectively for office product placement. If the attention of information sharing is to make it easy, then the Obama campaign is simply following established precedent.

So, with momentum and mass information evolving Obamania to internet banners daily, he is one step closer to showing the world how important believing is. By embracing the outlets that fit today’s needs, by communicating to the coveted age group of 18-25 via email and text messaging, he is demonstrating that communication can take place, person to person. It is that personal connection that is the equivalent to political gold. He continues to string together a unified vision of what is and could be; a fearful concept to the old school thought. But, at the end of the Presidential run, there is only one, untouchable process that Obama will not be able to utilize…voting via the internet. The Obama campaign has driven countless individuals to his website for a multitude of reasons. The only thing that people won't be able to do once they get there is vote. If November 4th see’s the vision of Obamania realized, the youthanization movement was the winning strategy. If Obama is not successful, than it is the Old School euthanization of the youth involvement in the election process.