Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:37 PM

I'd love to get DUers' thoughts on how social media is helping shape this election season.

For example, I've been speculating about the famous "secret tape." I have a hunch the mainstream corporate media would have tried to bury the story had it not been for social media. The media powers-that-be likely realized we'd all be passing it around and posting it on our Facebook pages and so on, and so in a way they were probably "forced" to cover that story and its fallout.

Also, I'm wondering if social media is also helping to blunt the attempt to buy the election with Citizens United-enabled corporate Big Money. People can post retorts, jokes, memes, etc. that undercut propaganda and thus educate their friends and family. It also helps them to see agendas (which seem obvious to most of us here but not obvious to many people who grew up believing whatever they saw in "the media").

Any opinions or observations on social media's effect on either the big picture or specific races & candidates?

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10 replies	Author	Time	Post
I'd love to get DUers' thoughts on how social media is helping shape this election season. (Original post)	Arugula Latte	Sep 2012	OP
quick thought I wanted to get down	bigtree	Sep 2012	#1
I think it is having a major effect...	Spazito	Sep 2012	#2
That's my sense, too.	Arugula Latte	Sep 2012	#3
I believe the Obama campaign recognized it in 2008 and has incorporated that knowledge...	Spazito	Sep 2012	#9
Good point.	Arugula Latte	Sep 2012	#10
Yes, it's making it harder to dissemble.	bemildred	Sep 2012	#6
I think we are more of a youtube society and corporate media has little to no control over that.n/t	cynatnite	Sep 2012	#4
You are correct on both counts. The tape would have been buried and so would we ....	Scuba	Sep 2012	#5
The big corporate money seems to buy more ad time on tv. But less and less people	Jennicut	Sep 2012	#7
I think the social media is overpowering the corporate media and more and more people go to them	kimbutgar	Sep 2012	#8

Response to Arugula Latte (Original post)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:41 PM

bigtree (49,361 posts)

1. quick thought I wanted to get down

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:42 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

. . . instead of letting all of the gaffes and revelations fade or bore us to death today, we've seen a proliferation of parodies and satire.

I think the humor is the most compelling and infectious element to the recent flurry of reporting on the net. twitter has exceeded itself with it's intelligently presented humor; especially fun to hear celebs crack a romney joke. Hashtags have also been hilarious. RomneyStrength was brilliant.

That's all I got . . .

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Response to Arugula Latte (Original post)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:43 PM

Spazito (26,475 posts)

2. I think it is having a major effect...

For the first time, the public has a way to immediately react, respond, critique, analyse, applaud, etc, what is being said and done by the candidates both nationally and locally. It gives a voice that can be as powerful, if not more, than the conventional media, because it allows for instant response, an equal voice for all.

I have been watching with fascination how it, to me, is changing the face of public input into what is said and done without waiting for the media pundits to spin it first.

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Response to Spazito (Reply #2)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:49 PM

Arugula Latte (40,559 posts)

3. That's my sense, too.

It's a fascinating development. I don't think a lot of the big powers anticipated the impact it could have.

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Response to Arugula Latte (Reply #3)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 03:08 PM

Spazito (26,475 posts)

9. I believe the Obama campaign recognized it in 2008 and has incorporated that knowledge...

of it's power into their planning brilliantly. The Romney campaign did the opposite, they believed and still believe the old 'tried and true' methods are all they need and they are seeing the devastating results of that OLD thinking, imo.

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Response to Spazito (Reply #9)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 03:14 PM

Arugula Latte (40,559 posts)

10. Good point.

They probably thought "We have money, we have Fox, we have Republican heads of Big Media, what else do we need?"

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Response to Spazito (Reply #2)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:56 PM

bemildred (67,762 posts)

6. Yes, it's making it harder to dissemble.

The effect is global, and it's been happening since the web went high-speed.

There are always people out there now analyzing and ripping apart anything you say IMMEDIATELY, and ideas "go viral", that's the key, once the idea gets replicated a few times, it stays out there forever.

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Response to Arugula Latte (Original post)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:50 PM

cynatnite (27,377 posts)

4. I think we are more of a youtube society and corporate media has little to no control over that.n/t

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Response to Arugula Latte (Original post)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:54 PM

Scuba (27,209 posts)

5. You are correct on both counts. The tape would have been buried and so would we ....

... under a pile of secret money.

In fall 2010 I saw my local Democratic Party rely on phone calls to land lines, and lose Russ Feingold as a result. Fortunately, I think the Party is adapting, and more importantly, the citizenry is less dependent on the Party for getting information about candidates and campaigns than in the past.

Good post, thanks.

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Response to Arugula Latte (Original post)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:57 PM

Jennicut (25,411 posts)

7. The big corporate money seems to buy more ad time on tv. But less and less people

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:57 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

watch one channel all night long anymore. People use their DVR or in my case, just go to the On Demand (I have Xfinity) and watch a show when I want to. I rarely watch commercials anymore except when my kids watch tv and that is Cartoon Network.

Twitter is really becoming big for this election, bigger then Facebook. It is much faster and you only post small snippets of info at a time.

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Response to Arugula Latte (Original post)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:59 PM

kimbutgar (852 posts)

8. I think the social media is overpowering the corporate media and more and more people go to them

then watch corporate news for their information. This rmoney video might have been brushed under the rug by the corporate media but the social media propelled it to have legs. The big money has lost control of their narrative that rmoney is the business man who can turn the country around. Social media shows he is an out of touch heartless Mormon who is power hungry. One other good thing is the social media is forcing the corporate media to report real news not the corporate narrative. And finally the social media is tearing down Fox and the right wing media's narrative exposing them for the heartless cretins they are.

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