The 2008 Election and the Impact of the Internet

   The 2008 election was an especially historic one for a number of reasons, but it's not what you are thinking. Yes, Barack Obama was the first African-American to be elected into office. But the importance of the election last Tuesday reaches into how he got elected, not who was elected.  Obama completely changed campaign strategies and campaign financing, and that's one of the biggest reasons why he beat out John McCain for the presidency. Filmmakers can take these same strategies and apply them to mobilizing their fans and fundraising:

• Social Networking presence (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter)
• Online Grassroots campaign effort to mobilize voters
• Small donations (<$1000) raised online

         Obama had a clear advantage on the Web compared to McCain. He was able to use the Internet and social media to reach out and gain traction among potential voters. Obama's presence on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter were clearly felt. The New York Times chronicles how Obama successfully used social networks in his campaign. On MySpace, Obama had over 800,000 supporters. McCain had over 200,000. Videos on Obama's YouTube channel got over 18 million views, while McCain's channel had just 2 million. While it is true that Obama's voter demographic matches with Internet users, Obama's overwhelming advantage suggests that the Internet will play a huge factor in future elections. This grassroots campaign effort mobilized millions of voters and led to a record in voter turnout, which led to an eventual victory for Barack Obama.

         What does this mean for filmmakers? It shows that the Internet has the power to mobilize. You, too, can lead a grassroots effort to gain traction for your film. If social media can play such a huge role in this election, it can benefit filmmakers by connecting them with their fans. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube are a few places to start building your fanbase.  IndieGoGo is a great place to aggregate all these social media tools. You can emulate Obama's tactics online and produce the same results.

         The President-elect also revolutionized campaign financing. In previous elections, candidates typically get money from their own political party, or from wealthy donors and corporations. McCain elected to go with financing from the GOP.  Obama raised a record amount- $600 million. But he did it through crowdfunding—small donations from many people. Millions of Americans contributed small sums of money to Obama's campaign. Most of his money came from sub-$1,000 donations.  In September, the Obama campaign reported that the average donation was $86. Filmmakers can also emulate Obama's grassroots fundraising campaign. This has been one of the driving forces behind IndieGoGo. Once filmmakers mobilize their fanbase, they can raise small sums of money to get their project made. 

          Barack Obama was able to take advantage of the Internet to win the 2008 election. Filmmakers can use the same tactics to get their projects made. Read more about Obama's social media advantage here