Voters, MySpace, and YouTube - The impact of alternative communication channels on the 2006 election cycle and beyond

MySpace and YouTube have affected election campaigns in simple, but significant, ways. These social networking sites, which are used by a substantial segment of the U.S. voting age population, represent the next Internet generation, which is primarily user driven. They have created benefits such as increasing the potential for candidate exposure at a low cost or no cost, providing lesser known candidates with a viable outlet to divulge their message, and allowing campaigns to raise contributions and recruit volunteers online. In conjunction with these benefits, YouTube and MySpace have also posed a new set of challenges to campaign staff, the most important of which is the reduced level of control that campaigns have over the image and message of the candidate, which is of critical importance to election outcomes. This article discusses these benefits and challenges and the influence of YouTube and MySpace on the 2006 election and future campaigns.