For good reason, Barack Obama has been labeled the first social media President. According to Freking (2017), "The year Obama came into office, the White House joined Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, iTunes, and MySpace." This is quite the influence. Obama utilized social media in ways no president ever had before. He used his platforms as a way to both educate and amuse voters, which is difficult to do. His social media legacy has undoubtedly influenced the following presidents, such as Donald Trump, to utilize social media as a political tool.
According to Goodman, Wennerstrom, and Springgate (2013), social media and Obama's use of it in his campaign may have ultimately won him the 2008 Presidential election. He used social media to microcast, which is when candidates advertise online to target audiences. His targeted messages and use of interactive communication were found to have "contributed to the 135% increase in youth votes in the first caucuses and the participation of an additional 3.4 million under-30 voters than the 2004 presidential election" (Goodman et al., 2013). This proved highly valuable to the Obama administration since 66% of under-30 voters voted for Obama in the 2008 election, according to Keeter, Horowitz, and Tyson (2008).
Obama's social media usage increased young voter turnout, and 66% of his voters were under 30, so I would say that his social media utilization won him the election.
Sources:
Freking, K. (2017). Obama makes his mark as first 'social media' president. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/obama-makes-his-mark-as-first-social-media-president/
Goodman, J., Wennerstrom, A., Springgate, B.F. (2013). Participatory and Social Media to Engage Youth: From the Obama Campaign to Public Health Practice. National Institutes of Health Public Access. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3719417/pdf/nihms489346.pdf
Keeter, S., Horowitz, J., Tyson, A. (2008). Young Voters in the 2008 Election. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/2008/11/13/young-voters-in-the-2008-election/
Hello Macy. Obama really did understand social media's ability like no other candidate at the time. Allowing him to secure the party nomination against Hillary Clinton and win the general election against John McCain. Arguably, this same understanding of social media is what helped Trump rise to political prominence and win the 2016 election against Clinton. Great post
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