Is there any place for Politics in Social Media?

Politics is about winning the respect of the general public in order to get elected to a certain position. Before computers and mobile phones this was usually accomplished through the use of campaigning and other public interest events however as technology has furthered within our society it can be seen that politicians are also utilizing the large grasp of the internet in order to gain the interest and respect of the general public. Social websites such as Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Myspace have all been exploited in order to reach a more substantial proportion of the public including more youthful generations. Barrack Obama during his election campaign used Twitter in order to communicate with his intended audience and I found it to be quite an ingenious bit of campaign work on his behalf. Not only did he reach the audience he intended to capture but he also managed to portray himself as a sort of 'peer' rather than a politician. Now I'm not speculating that this won him the election but I do believe that his tactic did help to represent him in a more positive light with the general public.

Lately politicians have been using mediums such as Youtube and Facebook in order to not only promote their own image but to smear the image of their competitors. The use of sites such as these are not only cheap but are able to gather a huge amount of public interest without the costs involved with campaigns and television commercials. In a way I guess this is a good thing because it means that both sides are able to equally represent themselves and ensures that elections are won based on the merit of the politician rather than whoever has more money. But at the same time the use of these sites may also prove detrimental to a politicians campaign. All to frequently have we seen parody and remakes of political campaigns in order to not only tarnish the credibility of said politician but to also prevent others from taking them seriously.

So the question is, can there be a place for politics within the social sphere of sites such as Youtube and Facebook? I believe that in some instances politics does have a place in social media because it demonstrates that a politician is aware of the changing society we live in. It not only exhibits this but it also shows that the politician has actually taken the time to try and grasp the attention of more youthful generations and is trying to adhere to there particular needs and wants rather than focusing on their own image. Although there are many positives to utilizing this form of social connection there are instances where it can backfire and politicians need to be careful of where and when they decide to place their campaigns. This may seem like a double edged sword but as society become more immersed within their social media the chances of reaching them through other means becomes less apparent and therefore reinforces the importance of adopting social mediums in order to connect with the general public.