An iPhone to get your vote!

President Barack Obama Using the iPhone to win votes?

The article written by Maggie Shields for BBC News is talking about how the present president of the United States used the iPhone application as a tool to help him get votes from the younger generations before he became president.

The application called “Call Friends”, is an application to get people involved in voting for him to be in office and to call onto their other friends to register as voters as well.

It is also a form of how technology is moving forward so fast that, it is so useful even in a presidential campaign. Other than using the iPhone application, they have also used sites such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook to help promote their campaigns.

New Media

1) Computer Games.

(source: computerrepairmaintenance.com)

2) Websites 

(source: jazeyecandy.blogspot.com)

3) Internet

Internet Explorer

(source: thetechherald.com)

 

Google Chrome

(source: shore.com) 

4) CD-Roms and DVDs

DVDs

(source:  libraries.rutgers.edu)

Just a few examples of new media (Wikipedia 2009).

However, by using these new medias, the campaigner should first consider who are their audience, what message they want to convey, and to use what kind of format to spread the message (Parker 1990).  This would help make a good campaign.

Media Issues

1) Online hate, it can occur in such a way to defame any certain person online (online hate: an introduction 2009). In this sense, the campaign can be backfired if there are people who decides to throw hate issues towards the campaign or try to sabotage it. Because the internet is vase and not easy to control, this can be a possibility.

2) Information privacy, because of the openness of the internet, securing private information is not easy because of the easy access of the internet ( Information Privacy 2009). The campaigners should thread on steady waters if they wished to have a smooth campaign without hiccups of any private mishap of the candidates.

3) Media Stereotyping, is inevitable in any context, anybody can be stereotyped by their class, race, gender, sexual orientation, and so on (Media Stereotyping – Introduction 2009). In the article, it can be seen that there is some sort of media stereotyping by having the applications only for iPhone users, what about those without iPhone?

In my opinion, using the iPhone application to attract the voters is and ingenious idea, people are spending more time with technology as compared to the pass. However, they should also take into context, those who do not have this application and come up with another idea for those who do not have the iPhone.

References:

Information Privacy 2009, online, retrieved 18th November 2009, from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/privacy/index.cfm.

Media Stereotyping – Introduction, 2009, online, retrieved 18th November 2009, from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/index.cfm.

Online Hate: An Introduction 2009, online, retrieved 18th November 2009, from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/index.cfm.

Wikipedia 2009, New Media, online, retrieved 18th November 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_media.