Abstract :
Can social networking technologies change single-issue and national politics?NOW THAT the British General Election campaign is underway, voters may be expecting a deluge of email spam and browser popups. After all, isn´t this supposed to be the election in which the Internet really makes a difference? Hasn´t the 2008 American Presidential race whetted candidates´ appetites for online opportunities?The voters´ fears reflect the traditional political dialogue. | Candidates usually address S voters directly and from a 85 distance. Theestablished tools ?? include rationed TV and radio broadcasts, direct mail, print advertising and a lot of spin.Even the best-known Internet techniques fit this model: official websites, email lists and dedicated YouTube channels. But if anything can be taken from the American experience, it´s that online campaigning is not just about digital pamphleteering. The 2010 campaigns will use more indirect methods, spun out from social networks.
