Technology in the modern era has had a major impact on political processes. It has allowed the average person voice their personal opinions about the government in many different ways to a broad and diverse range of people. In an interview with Joe Trippi, author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything and the presidential campaign manager for Howard Dean in 2004, he talks about the change in candidate elections and political processes through the Internet and other editable media. He states that politicians in office have used technology to bring their issues and causes to the forefront, allowing even more people to see and hear what they have to say. For example, Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" not only raised millions of dollars, but brought the supposed threat of global disaster and self-annihilation to the big screen for all Americans to "witness". Candidates and politicians also utilize the Internet and other media as a means of fund-raising. He says that the most logical form of fund-raising is one that hits the masses in large numbers, and the Internet is the place to do just that.


Communication IT Systems

The Internet is becoming the primary source of political fervor in the United States. It features several different modes of communications, from YouTube.Com videos to subliminal campaign ads on randomized websites. It has opened doors for many other people, especially the average Joe, to post arictles, pictures, videos, etc. with ease, all for the world to see. According to Joe Trippi, social networks such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com have also become extremely popular in recent years, especially to the younger generations. He also capitalized on the power of the Internet during the 2004 elections, using it as a fund-raising machine. It proved effective indeed, as it managed to reach a more diverse range of citizens. The Internet has connected the population with political arguments and to a more enriched source of information.

Personal and Public Communications have also been a constant source for political information. Radio and television have been the norm in political campaigns since the 19th Century and later the 1960's, respectively. However, electronic billboards and even cell phone messaging systems have become increasingly popular in the 21st Century. Politicians, lobbyists and political candidates all use these forms of communication in some form or fashion. In the current 2008 election, presidential candidates can even send their party/cause subscribers text messages which relays election information and their campaign progress.


Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

• "Google Bombing" unfairly raises one candidates Google Score while demoting the others by manipulating Google's algorithms
• Campaigns have far less control of information on the Internet
• The Internet allows anyone to see a candidates past history, therefore requiring today's politicians to be more authentic
• Information becomes less believable because one never knows who the author truly is

Social & Ethical Issues

Authenticity:
Any information that is put on the Web is always subject to doubt. The validity of informational sources can, at times, be extremely limited. There is also no one that can constantly monitor the accuracy of the information.

Cultural Diversity:
Information can be miscommunicated to various cultures and be found offensive, whether if the intent was malicious or not. Radio, television and Internet have the ability of broadcasting information to people of all walks of life, yet only radio and TV have any kind of censorship programs.

Equality of Access:
Everyone who uses the Internet has the free right to view, upload and download whatever they please as long as they do not interfere with the operations of the Internet Service Providers and their customers. Therefore, everyone is able to view political information and evaluate it for themselves. This, in some cases, leads to a misunderstanding of information which can hide the truth and cloud the judgement of the people. Lower income families may also have a lack of money or knowledge to use the technology as well.


Sources:
Article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6410264
Picture: http://www.marketingvox.com/electronic-billboards-display-roving-super-tuesday-results-036370/