College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Graduation Date

11-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Department/Program Conferring Degree

Leadership & Policy

Keywords

internet, political campaigns, social media, campaign strategy, advocacy tools

Abstract

This paper explores the use and effectiveness of Internet Advocacy Tools, including Twitter, Facebook, Email, and blogs, in American Political campaigns in order to better understand their role in the American electoral process. Data was collected through a census of political campaign professionals immediately following the 2010 Congressional elections. The results of this research indicate that simply utilizing Internet Advocacy Tools is not enough to win an election, and that campaign professionals of all political persuasions have reservations regarding their across-the-board usefulness and effectiveness, despite presenting some certain advantages over traditional campaign methods and tools.

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