annotated bib for politics & social networking sites

The topic I will be researching for my final research paper will be social networking sites and their relationship to politics.  Through my research, I have discovered that politics have begun to play a larger role in social networking sites, such as Myspace and Facebook.  Social networking sites are a relatively new development, beginning only five to six years ago.  Therefore, the audience of this paper is directed mainly towards the under 35 years old audience because they are the age groups that are familiar with social networking sites.  As of today, I do not believe this is a relevant topic to older generations.  However, as the age groups familiar with social networking sites age, this topic will begin to be relevant to people of all ages as they will be familiar with social networking sites.

            To research this topic, I plan to use mostly articles because social networking sites are relatively new and ever changing.  Due to this, there are not as many books on the subject, specifically on the topic of politics and social networking sites.  If possible, I will use primary sources to support my paper, depending on their quality and availability.  I would also like to interview a political science professor.  More specifically, I think it would be beneficial to interview a younger political science professor who would be more likely to have knowledge of social networking sites.

Social networking sites will replace print sources as the medium by which political campaigns are ran.

Annotated Bibliography (not in alphabetical order)

Winograd, Morley, Michael D. Hais. Millenial Makeover:  MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics. New Brunswick:  Rutgers University Press, 2008.

            The chapter "Social Networks Will Change America's Political Map" is the most relevant chapter of Millenial Makeover:  MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics to my topic.  This chapter specifically discusses the use of Facebook, a social networking site, in political campaigns in 2006.  The chapter discusses why social networking sites were not widely used in the 2004 election and illustrates how powerful a tool social networking sites will be in future political elections.  Specifically, the chapter discusses the importance of facebook groups and profile pages made by the candidates that are running for office.

Weprin, Alex. "Facebook Proves Elusive." Broadcasting & Cable 32 (2008).

            In the article "Facebook Proves Elusive," Alex Weprin discusses the failures of the US Politics application that ABC News launched on Facebook during the presidential primaries.  Weprin states that they removed the application because the primaries were finished, but also because the application did not reach enough people.  However, ABC News, CNN, and MSMBC.com all plan on launching revamped political applications on facebook.  As this article was written in August of 2008, it does not mention what the revamped applications were or how they were better.  Weprin makes clear that these news companies see Facebook as an important place to establish themselves in the future and for the upcoming presidential election.

Brooks, Karen. "Will Social Networking Sites Transform Politics?." The Dallas Morning News 1 October 2006. 25 October 2008 <http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/new/dmn/stories/100106dnatinternetvoting.34520b9.html

            In her article, Karen Brooks discusses the risk involved in using social networking sites as a means to help candidates campaign for office.  However, Brooks states that this is a risk most believe is worth taking. Brooks specifically mentions MySpace and discusses how it can be a beneficial tool in running a political campaign.  The mobilization of volunteers is a key way in which Brooks believes MySpace will have an impact on political campaigns.  Brooks also discusses the ease of which awareness of an event spreads through social networking sites.  Using MySpace, it is easy to alert people to upcoming campaign events, rallies, and fundraisers a certain political group or party is hosting.

Keen, Judy. "Websites Win Candidates' Praise." USA Today Online 17 October 2006. 25

October 2008 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-16-campaign-sites_x.htm

            In her article, Judy Keen discusses the successes of three candidates running for office in the 2006 elections and how they were directly related to their use of the internet, and specifically, social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook.  Keen mentions that people who normally would not hear about a particular candidate's policies or beliefs turn out to be important supporters because of social networking sites.  In the 2006 elections, citizens who heard about Len Munsil, a politician in Arizona, through Myspace and Facebook got involved by showing up at events and debates in support of Munsil.  In her article, it is also mentioned that politicians are not getting the most out of the internets power, meaning that the way politicians use social networking sites can be greatly improved.

Williams, Alex. "The Future President, On Your Friends List." New York Times Online 18 November 2007. 25 October 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/fashion/18myspace.html?_r=2&oref=slogin

            In his article, Williams makes direct references as to how MySpace will make an impact on the 2008 presidential election.  The application is called the "Impact Channel" and it includes links to all of the 2008 presidential candidates MySpace pages.  This application makes it very easy for MySpace users to access the candidates information.  The information is now in a centralized, easily searchable location rather than being isolated from all of the other candidates.  This allows MySpace users to easily compare information about the particulary candidates.  Williams believes social networking sites are the logical progression from talk radio, and most recently blogs and individual websites.

Sellers, Patrick. Personal interview. Date TBD.

            I think an interview with Professor Sellers will be the most beneficial to my research for several reasons.  First, he appears to be a younger professor who may have more knowledge of social networking sites.  Secondly, he teaches a course entitled "American Politics" which seems to be the most relevant to my paper topic.  Through this interview, I hope to gain a sense of the evolution of the campaign strategies of presidential candidates over the past twenty years or so.  This would allow me to see the trends and advances in political campaign strategy that have occurred over the past two decades.  He may also be able to comment on why social networking sites have the ability to revolutionize the campaign strategy of politicians.