by Maria Althea Teves, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 07/25/2009 3:46 AM
MANILA – It is no secret that US President Barack Obama won partly for using new media in his 2008 campaign.
New media is defined by Obama New Media Operations Manager Mary Joyce as a media message created, produced and read by the people. This means media found on the internet, and text messages via mobile phones.
Social networking sites have linked internet users to Obama’s webpage in order to know his policies and actively participate in discussions. But there is one key aspect the Obama campaign team is most proud of: getting online donations for the campaign that amounted to $500 million.
So what if they paid a dollar to the Obama campaign?
Joyce told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that the psyche behind donating money is that they feel they belong to the campaign. Joyce is also co-founder of digiactive.org, a volunteer organization helping activists around the world to use Internet and mobile phones to increase the impact of their message.
“Our marketing mantra was ‘own a piece of this campaign,’” she said. In turn, Obama supporters felt they had a say and the power to promote their candidate, and they felt more entitled to voice out what they feel and need.
Recognizing the importance of people’s donations, Obama even mentioned in his November 7, 2008 speech that his victory was built by working men and women who donated small amounts–from $5-$20–to the cause.
Joyce said that Obama did not have access to funds from the traditional elite of America so, “we had no choice but to campaign online, asking for donations from Middle America.”
Obama supporters, Joyce said, felt that Obama was accountable for what he promised because their money was used for their campaign. This way, they felt empowered and wanted him to win.
Donating Online to Organizing Offline
Obama’s campaign also encouraged his supporters to put up their own events at home, or wherever convenient, and invite their friends or family, whatever their political background.
Supporters could ask help from the Obama team in organizing their political-awareness event by filling up a form in their website, and the team would announce the event through the website.
“The objective of this was to get more Obama supporters,” Joyce said.
Organizing online with supporters to create their own event was a cost-efficient way of getting new supporters.
New Media and Old Media
Because of the innovations done to the Obama campaign, they were constantly being followed by the press, said Joyce.
She added that whatever achievement or new idea they introduced, they would send it to publications and make news out of their innovation.
“Without intending to, the Obama campaign was in tune with the concept of hope for change. We gave something new,” she said.
Since not everyone is familiar with online, it is also good to publicize these in newspapers, broadcast centers and radios.
Possible in the Philippines?
“Yes! It can happen,” Joyce said, imitating Obama’s tone when he says his popular ‘yes, we can’ slogan.
Contrary to popular belief that internet penetration is very low in the country, Internet World Stats, as of March 31, 2009 there were 20.65 million internet users in the country. This was 21.5% of the Philippines’ population. The country was 7th in top internet user countries in Asia. China was the highest.
Promoting causes
Promoting causes and actively campaigning for elections through new media can now be an influential tool, said blogger, journalist and activist Tonyo Cruz. Cruz spoke at the “New Media: A Powerful Tool for the 2010 Elections” forum organized by Computer Professionals’ Union (CP-union) at the Sofitel Hotel Friday.
Citing Nielsen and Yahoo’s internet penetration survey done in 2008, Cruz said that even those in social class C2 (63%) and DE (21%) have internet access.
“Most of them are 15-19 years old, they are first time voters, as well as housewives and the employed,” Cruz said.
In the same survey, it said that internet content has more influence in terms of inculcating values than television, print and radio. It also showed that internet penetration is highest in urban areas, and in vote-rich areas like Pangasinan.
New Media Challenge in RP
But unlike Obama’s campaign, Rick Bahague of CP-union said that it might be hard to ask for donations in the Philippines from the middle class and lower class.
“Large political parties are dependent on the Philippines’ traditional rich donors,” Bahague said.
On top of this, Cruz said political parties don’t need the people’s money because they think they’re not accountable to them. And with their resources, they could already manufacture votes that they need to win.
Party-list groups to benefit from new media
Since party-list groups cater to a specific, marginalized target group, new media is a good avenue to promote their cause and make people feel like a part of their team, said Joyce.
Because they are accountable to the groups who support them, party-list groups, especially those which do not have machinery for campaigns, ask for donations, just like what Obama did.
Filipinos have a hard time trusting monetary transfers via internet. Thus, Bahague suggested that mobile companies could monetize small-value prepaid cards for subscribers to donate, which party-list groups can then monetize.
In the US, Joyce said that company Act Blue was responsible for monetizing political donations of Obama, as well as other democratic candidates.
“Donating could be a symbol of commitment (from the supporters and the accountability of the party-list group),” said Bahague.
It is possible, he said, for the marginalized to feel as empowered as Obama’s supporters in the 2008 US presidential elections.
as of 07/26/2009 11:44 AM
The Opposite of Apathy 
daren said,
July 28, 2009 at 11:14 am
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