Campaigns Online Clause Samples

Campaigns Online. ‌ Online communication methods on the Internet share the benefits of the offline and unmediated tools, as well as further benefits to members of Congress. It can make communication fast, make more information available, offer easy access, provides opportunities for connections between people online (▇▇▇▇▇, Gent and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1998, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2016, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2011, Rackaway 2014), and is relatively cheap (Hill and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1998). Technology can also make it easier for politicians to target more specific or narrow groups for more directed negative campaigning (▇▇▇▇ 2009). Though the focus of this project is Twitter, several online technological innova- tions in congressional communication preceded social media. For each, Congress has been slow to adopt these new technologies. Members of Congress have adopted new technologies to communicate partially because their constituents were already there, both while campaigning and in office. As Rackaway wrote, “[p]olitical campaigners follow the voters, and if voters have moved online then it is a certainty that the campaigns will follow them” (2014, p. 78). Previous research has suggested that the introduction of new technologies on methods of congressional communication, particularly in the past twenty years, has changed how Congressmen communicate with their constituents (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2009, West 2013). Hong and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2011) noted that many have hailed social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, as innovations on the level of television and radio for their potential as tools of political communication. This shift began with Internet usage by members of Congress (▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1999, Effing, Van Hillegersberg and Huibers 2011). Today, Representatives use staff and resources for their online pres- ence (Hong and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2011, Lassen and ▇▇▇▇▇ 2011). Though they have changed how many communicate, some scholars argue that though the Internet can be useful and good, it is just one in a line of technological innovations such as phones or fax machines (Hill and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1998).1 I agree; though Twitter is the focus here, there have been (and will continue to be novel) technological advances used in campaigns 1They were also writing in 1998 and likely could not have foreseen the impact of technology on life today. for all levels of government. I acknowledge some of the existing scholarship of them below. 2.2.1 Websites & Email‌ One of the first online innovations were websites for individual members of Congress (▇▇▇▇▇▇ and Sel...