With "Social Media" websites dominating and at the top of their digital game it's only expected at this point for both candidates of the presidency to take advantage of as many as possible. Despite both Romney and Obama on the power-hungry warpath with these websites it would seem that Obama is the clear winner as of right now. Why? I believe it is because of his charming and witty personality and the fact that undecided voters on the internets are suckers for anybody with a charming and witty personality.
With both candidates it is old news by now that the people of Twitter have branded them both their own names behind a #Hashtag, as a multitude of other people have garnered. According to an article from Bloomberg News, "within 24 hours of President Barack Obama dubbing Republican challenger Mitt Romney's policy shifts as "Romnesia", #Romnesia was trending worldwide on Twitter". The true marvel behind this is certainly how FAST something like this can happen (honestly i'm surprised it didn't happen 24 MINUTES after the fact). It is because of this that Obama is able to get ahead in the race on the World Wide Web because, at this point, those people are almost expecting Obama to chime in with something that can put Romney in his place. That is, by now, what Obama is known for with these debates. Amidst the waves of memes, photos, .gif's, and other modes of jokes in defense of Obama, these #hashtagisms certainly help him propel further into stardom on the web.
Is this working in the long run? Honestly I don't know. Just because somebody sees #Romnesia trending and laughs to themselves doesn't mean that person is going to run out and vote for Obama, but a trending topic doesn't happen because of one person. I guess we'll all find out after the election is over.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-22/obama-winning-social-media-if-no-hashtagwars-really-matter
Barack Obama really does have a great celebrity personality. I think why so many people get swept up by his charm (I know I'm guilty of it) is because he's the first major politician we've had in a while who embraces being a celebrity in the public eye, and is not a hands-off politician removed from the people. He constantly goes on popular TV shows like Ellen, Jimmy Fallon, and The Daily Show; and he's good at referencing pop culture references for humor. Look at how he handled his (informal) speech at some dinner/ convention regarding his birth certificate- he actually played a clip of The Lion King. He's a funny guy. And he makes awesome, catchy, one word stabs at his opponent that happen to be the perfect amount for a hashtag like Romnesia, or Romneyhood. It's great! And he's good at it. But you make a good point; does any of that necessarily mean that he's a good politician?
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