A Virtual Election
Personal November 04, 2008

I wrote a small post a while ago linking to an SNL video with Tina Fey and claiming that entertainment is politics. Well, it seems to be the other way around as well. I may only have been able to vote for two elections now, but I can say for sure that the amount of interest politically in this country has increased dramatically from where it was ten years ago.

And it's not 100% necessarily because people are now suddenly interested in politics. It's mostly because this is the first time in history that politics are so heavily infused in popular media. Think about it - in the past few years there has been a tremendous amount of news articles, blog posts, youtube videos, twitter tweats, TV shows, movies, comics, letters and more regarding politics. Because this generation is so reliant on the Internet and television, it makes sense that the best way to generate voter interest is through these mediums.

Barack has a twitter account, a Facebook page, a website and a spot on primetime television. When else before did a candidate have so many venues with which to reach the country? You don't even have to pick up the New York Times to learn about the election anymore. You can keep doing what you've always been doing - browsing the web, chatting with friends, stalking people on Facebook, listening to the Daily Show - and you get all the information you need. It's incredible.

Now, instead of rooting for your favorite sports team, or getting angry with a Soap Opera drama character, people are rooting for candidates and getting emotional at election coverage. Forget the real-world TV shows like Survivor. We have a *real* real-world show in politics. And the outcome doesn't result in someone winning a million dollars or becoming the next American idol; it results in changing the entire country and potentially the world.

Regardless of the outcome of the election today, whether we elect the first black president or the oldest first-term president along with the first lady vice president, history will be made. But more importantly, we've seen how technology and entertainment play a huge role in the current generation's lifestyle and have opened new doorways for mass marketing and communication for future endeavors.

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