Wednesday, August 17, 2005

BBC NEWS | Technology | Netting the connected electorate

~~~ In the USA 2004 race the Bush team "netted" the religious right. ~~ TP

BBC NEWS | Technology | Netting the connected electorate
"Widespread access to and use of the net is influencing the complex balance of influences that determine voting patterns and electoral outcomes. One of the comments made by several commentators this time around was that we did not seem to be having a "national" election but instead it was a collection of local contests. I know that this is how it is supposed to work, but the last 50 years have seen this model break down as national questions and national politicians dominate the debate, manipulating a suitably pliant media into reporting it in these terms. " The net, by creating connections between people and giving anyone who wanted it access to a vast pool of information on candidates, policies, likely outcomes and strategic options, did what it does best: it connected the nodes on the electoral map and allowed information to flow.