The use of social media -- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Foursquare and other services -- has become a ubiquitous part of political campaigning in recent years, allowing candidates to shape their own messages, speak directly to masses of voters, and quickly respond to crises or criticisms. While there is little doubt that we're currently in the midst of a brave new world of political campaigning, technology has always played a major role in how candidates campaign for office.
Here is a look at some of the innovative technology that has been used during U.S. political campaigns through the years:
Calvin Coolidge -- Radio
While he may have been known as "Silent Cal," it was the new technology of radio that helped this man of few words get re-elected in 1924. With famed advertising executive Bruce Barton helping to hone his image as a steady hand in the White House, Coolidge made extensive use of radio broadcasts to get his message out to a mass audience. In February 1924, Coolidge became the first president to deliver a political speech on the radio.
Coolidge won the election in a landslide and this burgeoning technology quickly became a boon for future presidential candidates.
John F. Kennedy -- Television
The 1960 presidential election was a classic David vs. Goliath situation: a privileged, inexperienced, young senator facing off against a seasoned politician and sitting vice president. But the attractive John Kennedy got a major boost over his older and more haggard opponent, Richard Nixon, thanks to the wonder of television.
The first series of televised debates in American history took place during the fall of 1960, giving millions of potential voters an opportunity to actually see both candidates head to head. Underweight, perspiring, and with a perpetual five o'clock shadow, Nixon was no match visually for the rested, relaxed, and confident-looking Kennedy who went on to win the election.
Six percent of voters claimed that the four televised debates between Kennedy and Nixon were the deciding factor in their decision. (Kennedy topped Nixon by .1 percent of the vote.) Meanwhile, televised political debates were here to stay, playing a major role in every presidential election campaign for the past five decades.
Howard Dean -- Internet
No previous presidential candidate had ever harnessed the power of the Internet quite like Howard Dean during the 2004 election. In the last days before the social-media revolution that would revolutionize the way we use the Internet, Dean tapped into Meetup.com to organize hundreds of thousands of his supporters throughout the country and raise millions of dollars in small donations along the way. This grassroots effort launched his campaign from relative obscurity to the top of the Democratic field during the early part of the campaign season and made him an overnight success.
Unfortunately for Dean, the momentum eventually waned, his campaign lost steam, and he dropped out of the race. But his trailblazing use of the web would set the tone for the next election.
Barack Obama -- Social Media
The 2008 presidential election could be called the "YouTube Election." It was this video-sharing service, introduced in 2005, that allowed candidates to speak directly to the voters in a way that had not been possible in the past. Even more importantly, YouTube allowed a candidate's supporters to share these videos with their friends. Call it "viral campaigning," and nobody was better at it during the 2008 presidential campaign than Barack Obama. With millions of views and scores of different videos, Obama was able to project his famous charisma right to a voter's laptop.
Obama, of course, won the election, and the age of social-media campaigning was born.
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