Social Networking in Politics Tyler Shelton

Quick Facts 1. Online Activity: During the 2012 election, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site. These users are referred to by Pew as “political social networking site (SNS) users.” 2. Petitions Go Digital: 22% of Americans surveyed signed a paper petition in 2012 and 17% reported to have signed a petition online. 3. Election Stats: Obama’s Twitter following in 2008: 118,000 followers. Obama’s Twitter following in 2012: 20+ million. In 2012, he also engaged with his followers by hosting Twitter Town Hall meetings, utilizing trending hashtags, and made Twitter history with his post-election tweet. 4. Sharing is Caring: Of American adults who use social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, 28% have shared political news on their social networks for friends and family to read. 5. Social media as a platform: 60% of users who are politically active online have expressed a political or social belief via online channels — like emailing government officials or online petitions.

6.  Social Sharing: 43% of SNS users decided to learn more about a political or social issue because of something they saw on social media. 7. New wave of political activism: 18% of respondents took action on a political or social issue because of something they read on a social networking site. 8. Offline Implications: Social media engagement leads to offline involvement, with 83% of political SNS users also getting involved in political or social issues offline. 9. Age matters: While younger adults are just as likely as older adults to be civically engaged, younger adults and are much more likely to be politically active on social networking sites, Pew finds. 10. Political Contributions: While the bulk of contributions are made offline, the Internet is a growing space for political contributions, with around 23% of political donors making only online contributions in 2012.

Voting Through Vine In June of this year, Representative Eric Swalwell of California made history as the first Congressman to vote on a bill via Vine. Rep. Swalwell was protesting the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a controversial bill posing nationwide restrictions on abortion. Though the bill ultimately passed in the House, it is unlikely to pass in the Senate and President Obama has promised to veto. Rep. Swalwell’s Vine vote may not have changed the outcome of the bill in the House, but it certainly caught the nation’s attention as politics and social media become more and more intertwined.

The Filibuster Heard ‘Round the Web’ On June 25th, state Senator Wendy Davis of Texas led what is being referred to as the first crowdsourced filibuster This 13-hour filibuster against an anti-abortion bill may have been the first time in history that crowd-participation directly influenced legislation, as protestors in the gallery shouted and screamed until the special session ended at midnight. Senator Davis specifically sought out crowd participation through Twitter, where she announced her plan to filibuster. This tweet was retweeted over 9,000 times. On Tumblr, supporters of Davis put out a call for more testimonials for Davis to read during the filibuster. As users documented the situation play-by-play on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr, viewers across the country tuned in to the livestream and watched for updates on social media.

Conflict in Egypt Most recently, political upheaval in Egypt came to a head on July 3rd following three days of street protests. President Mohamed Morsi was overthrown by the Egyptian military, and interestingly, much of the conflict played out over social media. Both President Morsi and the military used Twitter and Facebook to post statements that were not simultaneously seen on other forms of media. When the military threatened President Morsi with an ultimatum to meet protestors’ demands for a more inclusive government, Morsi responded with his rejection via Twitter. SCAF, which governs the military in Egypt, preferred to post updates on Facebook, such as the terms of the coup. Despite the military overthrow, a verified Twitter account affiliated with President Morsi continued to tweet in defiance. An official Facebook page for President Morsi also posted a status rejecting the military’s coup. Facing a lack of statements elsewhere, top news sites posted these social media updates.

VIDEOS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DtTTB-Njgk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLb_Wrry4PQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKIeTmfHO6A

Social Networking in 2012 Campaign There are an ever-increasing number of social media tools and a rapidly growing user base across all demographics.  Current measures of American adults who use social networks are at 69%; that’s up significantly from the 37% of those who had social network profiles in 2008 President Obama maintained a substantial lead in both Facebook likes and Twitter followers over Governor Romney. By the end of the campaign, Obama had 22.7 million followers and 32.2 million likes, compared to Romney’s 1.8 million followers and 12.1 million likes. HootSuite’s Election Tracker showed that Twitter mentions of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney remained much closer, however. During the debates in October, Mitt Romney’s mentions surged along with his noticeable bump in the polls.

The “JFK” of Social Networking President Obama is the “JFK” of social networking because JFK used the new technology of Television to win his election and Obama used the increasingly trending Twitter and Facebook to win both of his elections.

Conclusion Not only has social networking helped win elections, it has also greatly changed the way that politicians use their knowledge of popularity within social networking to create a greater “uproar” of support of a bill or an issue.