Mainstreet America Roars Across the Net
The average American is getting sick and tired of the status quo. Before the Internet, there may have been some protests. Other discontented folks wrote letters to the editor. Some chose to run for office. But the bulk complained at the dinner table.
The Internet has changed all of that.
The Ron Paul Movement
This year’s election may be determined by alternative media and the swell of quotes, links and opinions blasting across the Internet.
Photo by Afagen (click for Flickr Stream)
This year, it started with the Ron Paul Revolution, when an unassuming, Libertarian-leaning Republican that no one really heard of triggered a storm of blogging, shouting and commentary in the cyberworld when he launched his presidential campaign. In fact, much to Paul’s surprise, his following grew so passionate that he shattered all previous Republican and Democrat fundraising efforts, earning over $6 million in one day.
Other Causes
Although the American presidential campaign is getting most of the attention right now, other causes have received some action due to the Internet. Les Scammell, an educator and business manager who lives a small town in SE Queensland Australia, launched what he calls “My Radical Blogs.” One of his projects is the Protest Against The Slaughter Of Whales that has a goal of getting 1000 bloggers to add their blogs to his “1000 Blog Protest Against The Slaughter Of Whales” campaign. So far, he has a little over 150 blogs that have added their URLs to his blog.
CAPTION: The 1000 Blog Protest
In response to the massive government buyout of distressed assets, http://www.buymyshitpile.com launched with the message, “What Happens on Main Street Affects Wall Street.” With a more serious tone, Downsize DC has over 23,700 members who receive email “dispatches” about pending bills in Congress that will increase wasteful federal spending. These members in turn call and fax their Senators and Representatives and give them an earful about pending legislation that would normally be obscure because it is simply not reported in mainstream media.
Organizations such as FreePress.net with thousands of online activists have been making an impact in Internet and other media. An example of one of their recent success stories has been to let the average person know about the arrests of journalists who were reporting on protests at the 2008 Republican convention. Thanks to their efforts and the work of other grassroots organizers online, over 60,000 letters were delivered to St. Paul demanding that no charges be pressed against the journalists. They won. Charges were dropped.
Mainstreet America Roars
As to the current political campaigns, more than ever before, the common voter is getting to have his or her say. It’s not just a handful of voices. The volume has turned into a roar. It’s unknown whether politicians actually pay attention to what the people are saying (for instance, voters were saying “no” to the massive bailout with a ratio of 300-to-1, but it looks like it’s going to pass anyway). What is known is that the average Joe gets immediate gratification for publishing his opinion, and that opinion will undoubtedly translate into what voting lever Joe pulls.
Twitter has been around since March 2006, providing a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. It’s no surprise that the Twitter platform has been integrated into numerous political forums. Read about politics and Twitter at the Twitter blog. It’s amazing to watch Twitter’s own election updates, with “Tweets” scrolling through every second.
The user-submitted news site, Digg, gives more indepth and useful election coverage than Twitter. Digg has a whole section devoted to the 2008 US elections.
Mainstreet America is highlighting information about the politicians and their compaigns that the average voter would never know about from the mainstream press and television coverage. For instance, this little clip about Sarah Palin showed up in one of the Diggs I’ve received. You’ll never see this on TV:
Of course, we can’t forget YouTube as a way for the average person to be heard in today’s political climate. YouTube as an “Election Channel” that covers all kinds of political races, including the presidential race. You’ll find the less mainstream videos by searching through the main site.
Here’s where it’s really going to get intense. Although it is still perfecting the tool, Google has launched “inQuotes,” which allows you to find the candidates’ quotes on just about any topic. “Flip flops” and lies are going to be revealed at the speed of the Net, thanks to Google.
What’s to be Learned from This?
Voters who want to know more than what is presented in media soundbytes are definitely going to be researching the candidates and the issues online. With more information readily available, there’s going to be a greater accountability than ever facing candidates, and this will affect activist issues and politics.
From a small business perspective, there is a lot that can be learned about social media and marketing. Check out all the links above to see how they are used, and how your business can participate.
On the good side, we can take advantage of social media to get the word out about our offerings. Conversely, our business reputations and the reliability of what we sell can be made or broken by opinions on the Internet.
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