Chatalas Shrugged

Assessing technology’s impact on society is a timeworn exercise. Over the last several years the Internet has become an obvious focus of such study amid its growing prominence. Fortunately, examining the convergence of politics and the Internet isn’t overwhelming because it’s both fresh in our memory and the data is more easily accessible. And there is no shortage of analysis on the role digital technology plays in our electoral and governmental processes.

In Cybercampaigning, from The Politics of Internet Communication, Robert Klutz traces the use of the Internet by political campaigns from 1992 to 2004. By studying several campaigns, including those of Clinton, Dole, Gore, Bush, Ventura and Dean, Klutz describes the emergence of the Internet as a crucial element of successful politics.

The early attempts to utilize the web were crude in comparison to today. The steady progression from static candidate websites to dynamic communication, fundraising and organizing tools parallels our own experiences as we’ve become more familiar with the technology.

Going even further, it was only a matter of time before the online marketing efforts used by businesses would be applied to the selling of a candidate and ideas. Targeting, customization and viral campaigns are all part of the modern campaign. This really isn’t that different from how politicians learned to use successful sales techniques at previous stages in history. Still, the power of the Internet, particularly in regard to reach and interactivity, is surpassing that of newspapers, radio and television in earlier days.

Klutz outlines four unique features that the Internet offers to political campaigns: low accidental exposure, audience discretion, mass interactivity, and unlimited time and space. These are typically cited in any general discussion of the benefits of digital technology. Klutz, though, also mentions the liabilities inherent to each of these features.

While the negatives he puts forth do have merit, they are overstated for the most part. For example, Klutz says the downside of audience discretion is that the mood of the recipient is unknown. But if the audience is taking advantage of the convenience of the Internet, it is choosing what messages and information to absorb. Another problem Klutz mentions, this time in regard to mass interactivity, is that it may raise the expectation of interaction beyond what the candidate can truly offer. Interestingly enough, Philip Howard, in his book New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen, cites a case where a company created software to help campaigns respond rapidly to e-mails from interested citizens.

Howard’s book is full of instances where companies and organizations are tailoring technology to the needs of the modern campaign. From gathering valuable data for use by campaigns, to the creation of powerful websites that quickly provide public information, innovators are continually finding ways to aid campaigns and to augment their bank accounts in the process.

I was very intrigued by the discussion of redlining in the Howard text. It is fascinating that a term we so often relate to unequal treatment of others in regard to necessary services is actually quite present in our supposedly egalitarian Internet. Contrary to the contention of the candidate, campaigns really aren’t trying to reach all the constituents… just those it deems as beneficial in the quest for voters and getting elected. By focusing on a select few (those likely to vote, give money, or be convinced to support the candidate), a sizable subset of citizens is being consciously ignored.

This political redlining reinforces Lippman’s stance that weighty matters are beyond the mastery of the ordinary citizen, and that “political processes are necessarily dominated by minority opinion.” This decision-making by elites essentially supports redlining; those with favorable demographics will be those embraced by hypermedia campaigns.

Klutz and Howard both provide insight about the emerging role and importance of the Internet within political campaigns. The growth in the sophistication of digital campaigning clearly mirrors that of society’s Internet usage. As we’ve become innately immersed in the wired world, these advances are bound to occur… and even to be expected. Books such as those by Klutz and Howard will help us to discern some of the coming innovations and their application to politics.