How Digital Media Influenced Outcome of Presidential Race

Image Gallery Allan Louden, associate professor of communication at Wake Forest University, who teaches Digital Politics.   Click image to view fullsize   Image 1 of 1

Newswise — How important were YouTube, Facebook, blogs, wikis and Web sites in this election? Allan Louden, associate professor of communication at Wake Forest University, can explain how new advertising methods, mobilization, debates and the Internet contributed to the Barack Obama victory and changed forever the nature of campaigning for the presidency.

“Television as we know it today will follow the trends of newspaper print editions and become increasingly less central to the process,” said Louden, who teaches a class on Digital Politics. The class discusses hot topics such as parody/comedy on the Web, the influence of YouTube, the importance of music videos, and the effectiveness of campaign-generated e-mail and banner advertising. The students can offer insights into how digital media has shaped the election, particularly for younger voters.

Louden has commented on digital media this week for The New York Times, “No one knows the impact of quasi-permanency on the Web, yet, but it surely has changed the political world. The role of gatekeepers and archivists has been dispersed to everyone with Internet access.”