The Use of New Media in Electoral Campaigns: Analysis on the Use of Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the 2009 Romanian Presidential Campaign
The Use of New Media in Electoral Campaigns: Analysis on the Use of Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the 2009 Romanian Presidential Campaign

Summary/Abstract: The use of new media and social media as tools of political and electoral communication represent a field not yet fully explored by the Romanian researchers. This paper aims to observe and analyse, using a systematical and empirical approach, to what extent the Romanian politicians have used their blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts in the most recent presidential race. The premise from which the research started is that the Romanian presidential candidates have included social media in their communicational strategy only as a mechanical reaction to the spectacular development of these networks. The paper aims at identifying to what extent we could speak of a winner of the presidential elections in the online environment, from the perspective of consistently sustained communication on the four online platforms (Facebook, Twitter, personal blog and YouTube) or, on the contrary, if no candidate for presidential elections had benefited from an integrated communication campaign on the Internet to set him apart from other political competitors.

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