Hi all
We have earlier discussed about the relevance and possible impact of social media in the coming General Elections. Times of India has carried the following story. Please read on.
I will be happy if members share their views on the relevance of social media in the comming elections.
Narren
http://epaper.
Net gets the vote
Thanks to the Internet, the upcoming elections will be one of a kind. CT tells you why…
SINDHU VIJAYAKUMAR Times News Network
While politicians debate and break their heads over the permutation and combination of electoral alignments, netizens seem to be having heated debates over another issue — the role of cyber space in the coming general elections.
Says former election commissioner T S Krishna Murthy, "It is good that Indian elections are becoming more electronic. This way, campaigning becomes less expensive and more personal. Parties and civil society organisations are bound to use Internet and mobile phones for election campaigning. Eventually, I hope it curbs the present tendency to opt for huge posters and costly advertisements."
The former official says that Internet voting could be considered as it would be of invaluable help to uniformed service personnel and diplomats. S Ve Shekeher, a techfriendly MLA says, "Social media plays a greater role in creating awareness. The first thing I did as an MLA was to create an e-mail id to receive feedback from my constituency. And the response was overwhelming."
But as far as the impact of social media on election results is concerned, he is skeptical. Elaborating on the voters' attitude he says, "At the end of the day, what matters is, whether the government or candidate has done something to improve the living conditions of the people who voted for him."
Kiruba Shankar, CEO of Business Blogging, says that though the effect of social media will not be very significant, political parties cannot neglect it. He says, "Social media is hit as far as youngsters are concerned. And it was one of the decisive factors in the US elections. So, in order to reach out to the young audience, parties and politicians should use it as a tool."
The blogger, however, warns that there needs to be a united effort from the party, if they wish to make an impact on the voters. "A party must, apart from promoting its leaders, also post the credentials of its local candidates to have a positive outcome," he explains.
Manoj, a sales professional and an avid blogger agrees and says that old tried and tested strategies alone won't help in this election. "Social media has the power to bring people from all walks of life together and help them discuss topics of common interest. Young people in India are more engaged in politics in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks. There are unprecedented amounts of online debates happening on elections, candidates and many problems faced by India. Besides, social media will motivate a large number of youngsters to use their power to vote," he says.
K Srinivasan of Prime Point Foundation, a social media evangelist, says that social media allows much more in-depth content, with the ability to compare, contrast and reflect. "Though only 10 per cent of the population uses the Internet, they are influential as they act as opinion leaders thus creating a viral effect," he says.
He agrees that the impact may not be felt big, but adds, "Increasingly, social media is integrating with mainline media and when this happens, it influences the results significantly."
So, the result is clear, politicians and parties cannot neglect social media and if they do so, they will be missing out on an opportunity to cash in on the power of the Internet in their electoral campaigns.
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