Florida Opponents of Proposition 2 Have Over 24,000 Friends on Social Networking Sites

Why Candidates are Not Targeting Younger Voters on TV
With over 19 social networking sites against Florida's Proposition 2 alone, it is no wonder!

Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 03:28PM

Political campaigns—take note!

Have you been paying attention to all the fascinating news about how the Internet is increasing becoming a leading source of campaign information for young voters?

According to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace play a crucial role in the scheme of things.

According to the article, 42 percent of young voters, ages 18 to 29, say they regularly learn about campaign news from the Internet—the highest percentage for any news source. That number slightly doubled compared to the last presidential election season in 2004. In Florida, there are over 19 different social networking communities registered against Proposition 2. Facebook and MySpace alone have over 24,000 Proposition 2 opponents combined.

Yes, we’ve undoubtedly entered a new era of political campaigning where even Web sites are “so last season”. Social media is where the key target markets can be reached. Today, it’s more than raising money and spreading the word, it’s about establishing relationships and starting conversations—and it can be done without knocking on a single door.

In a study of college students conducted by Burst Media, one third spent at least 10 hours a week on the Internet. Less than 20 percent of those surveyed spent that much time watching TV or listening to the radio. What does this mean to candidates and those pushing for laws or amendments? It means that if you want the vote of young voters, social media and other Internet outlets are the way to achieve your goals.

Although success can be measured by how many friends you have on MySpace or how many fans your cause has on Facebook, the real success comes in following these potential voters through the election. Reaching out to young voters is one thing, but social networking initiatives have to do more than create buzz. They have to inspire our youth to make a difference and support your cause.

Integrated social networking campaigns have the power to gain awareness, promote causes and increase bottom line results in a variety of industries. Whether it’s raising money for a nonprofit organization, gaining new business for a local company or winning over the votes for or against a particular candidate—social media is changing the game.

The Obama and McCain campaigns have worked hard in their fight to win Florida’s electoral votes targeting younger voters. Because of the excitement and hype around the presidential campaign, opponents of Proposition 2 have benefited by social networking sites. All together, online communities against Proposition 2 have grown to an estimated 24,000 supporters.

What should this say to the dedicated campaign staff that is working so hard to defeat Proposition 2 in Florida? If opponents of Prop 2 focuses efforts on building up the existing 19 social networking communities and rally them against the proposition, the campaign could go viral over night and result in over 100,000 votes against Prop 2. We all know that if we turn out 45,000 to 90,000 votes against Proposition 2, it will lead to its defeat.

Please join me in my opposition to Proposition 2 by clicking on the link below and impacting this election way greater than any ad on network TV ever could while taking our fight for equality viral!

Stop Proposition 2!