Reassessing “political will” and predicting elections online
Public relations are immediate today, and the public overwhelmingly initiates such relations. John Edwards brushes his hair in preparation for an interview, and he is internationally mocked on You Tube. The Polish Power twins are treated in an equally ludicrous manner in a doctored music video. Through online documentaries and websites, Rupert Murdoch has earned a suspicious reputation rivaled by few (except, perhaps, the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney).
The good news is that many public officials have responded by directly appealing to their audiences in corporate and political blogs, forums and websites. These officials recognise the importance of regular correspondence with their publics. The rise of the official corporate and political blog has in turn spawned an incredible amount of blogs about corporate and political blogs. Most agree that in order to be effective and influence mainstream and social perception, messages must be clear, short, and simple. Answers must be direct and honest (or else denizens of netizens will no doubt publish, post and proliferate the facts of any attempted misdirection.) In no other time has the power of the private individual to engage with the body politique (or corporate) been quite so strong and aggressive. However, it is within the power of party or company officials to respond as directly and aggressively and even to take advantage of the online popularity that a public name generates.
Senator Obama Barrack, in his bid for the Presidential candidacy of the US Democratic Party, has taken full advantage of his online appeal to younger voters. He has made appearances on MTV and other media forums targeting younger audiences, and these appearances have migrated to You Tube and various personal and public weblogs. He has exploited his public name online.
But Buzz is more than simple popularity. Unfortunately, while Barrack may have much overall Buzz, he is not as regularly linked within that Buzz to politically important issues, such as the economy or health care, as is his more polarizing rival, Senator Hillary Clinton.
PCP (Persons, Corporations, and Policies) are Buzz entities that are continuously recast in online media. The Buzz claims them, combines them, and alternates between them, mixing initiatives both public and private in the Buzz re-creation of real person or policy in virtual space and time. Management of the public perception of a politician or a policy, private or public, is thus essential, as is understanding the current environment surrounding that PCP. This requires more than a single corporate blog’s response; it requires a diversified and nuanced understanding of the citizens and consumers to whom a corporate or public entity is responding. PCPs must exploit online media monitoring to make this possible. Online social media (such as blogs and forums) as well as mainstream media (i.e. online newspapers and magazines) illuminate the environments in which PCPs are expressed and re-created.
It is through this media that a person, corporation, or policy can understand and influence constituents and citizens. Buzz illustrates how a message or a campaign is perceived and can in many ways predict future perceptions. It is both media and medium, and savvy politicos and CEOs are listening.