I was very kindly asked to give a lecture to the LSE’s Modern Political Campaigning Msc class. The invite came courtesy of a kind recommendation from Charlie Beckett, Director of Polis.
The presentation is below. It was a prompt more than anything else so not all of it will make sense but you’ll get the gist of my argument…in the UK the internet (and social media) has changed the way that people who do politics do politics but in the US it has comprehensively changed the way that politics operates.
The Web And Politics
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H/T @dominiccampbell for telling me how to get this presentation onto this blog! Thank you.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:56
Anthony,
Thanks for sharing this presentation. Having covered the 2008 election in the US, I’m often struck at how over-simplified coverage of the Obama campaign. As you point out, it was result of years of party building and Howard Dean’s (at the time) controversial 50 state strategy. The Obama campaign was integrated in a way that the US has never seen: Email, direct mail, virtual phone banking, mobile, social networking, meetups, traditional advertising and organising.
The thing that seems so odd looking at the UK campaigns and parties is their inability to adapt, not just strategically but politically. However, thinking as I write this comment, that might have to do not with political change in the US than changes in the media. Blogging has had a far greater impact in the US and opened up the debate to a far greater extent than in the UK.
Again, thanks for sharing the presentation.
April 10th, 2010 at 12:27
Hello, superb blog.