Facebook-the political 'town square' of America
Site gives politicians, users political voice
REBECCA LANDAU- Managing Editor
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When a Voices for Planned Parenthood member wanted to communicate her pro-choice ideals for free to as many people as possible, she turned to social networking Web site Facebook.com.
"It's the easiest way to reach people," said junior and social-work major Kristen Epperson, 20, who created the Facebook group, "My body - my choice."
Epperson is not alone. According to Time magazine story "Facebook and the Election," social networking sites are the new "town square," where millions express their political beliefs and where political campaigns lobby for support.
"In the '90s, the message was 'Rock the Vote.' Now it's time to 'Facebook' it," the article states.
VCU students have founded more than 500 Facebook groups, which have profiles that allow users to become group members, write on message boards and post pictures, videos and announcements. Among these groups, 35 are registered as political groups and 35 are registered as current events groups.
According to its Web site, Facebook has more than 54 million users. Most users spend an average of 20 minutes on the site every day, and the site is the sixth-most trafficked in the United States. Although Facebook originally was restricted to college-student use, in September 2006, it was made available to anybody with an e-mail account.
Among those who have taken advantage of the site's new accessibility are state and national politicians.
Time magazine reported state politicians began buying ad space on Facebook last September.
And with the 2008 presidential election less than a year away, presidential candidates are turning to Facebook, as well.
To generate user support, some candidates have established personal profiles, which are formatted to look like regular users' profiles.
But instead of listing friends, political profiles list "supporters" - users who have added their names to a list of those who publicly favor the candidate.
Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton's personal pro- file currently has more than 51,500 supporters. The page includes links to her official Web site, photos and a blog. Clinton's last blog post is about Veteran's Day, which took place Monday.
At the same time, user groups protest candidates, as well.
The Facebook group, "Stop Hillary Clinton: (One million strong AGAINST Hillary)," has more than 565,000 members, and the group, "Hillary Clinton: Stop running for President and Make Me a Sandwich," has more than 22,000 members.
"Hillary Clinton is the antichrist," states a post on the page for the group, "ANTI Hillary Clinton for president 08," which has more than 65,000 members.
Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama also has a personal profile on Facebook, which has more than 160,000 supporters.
Numerous user-created groups support his candidacy, as well. Among these groups, the group, "Barack Obama: One Million Strong for Obama," has the most members, nearing 400,000. VCU group "Barack Obama's My Baby's Momma" has four members.
"Yes, sexiness has officially merged with articulate speech capabilities and competence ... and entered the political arena," the VCU group states in its description.
The largest anti-Obama group has 802 members.
Facebook groups also have been created for Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, yet the group "Congressman Ron Paul for President" has the most support at almost 43,000 members. Last week, Paul made headlines when The Associated Press reported his campaign had raised $4.2 million in 24 hours.
"We need to start a grassroots operation ... and tell anyone and everyone all the good things about Ron Paul. … He is the only good person running for president," one user states on the "Congressman Ron Paul for President" wall, or message board.
Mitt Romney ranks second among Republican candidates with the Facebook group, "Mitt Romney (One Million Strong for Mitt)," which has more than 15,500 members. While McCain's personal profile has a little more than 13,000 supporters, Giuliani's personal profile only has about 9,750 supporters.
Yet, Clinton's, Obama's and Paul's largest support groups combined are no match for Facebook users' support of comedian and "Colbert Report" host Stephen Colbert, who failed last week to acquire a spot on the South Carolina Democratic primary ballot because he was not deemed a viable candidate. The pro-Colbert group, "1,000,000 Strong for Stephen Colbert," has almost 1.5 million members to date.
But these group profiles might not be reaching everyone.
Senior Steven Depue, 27, doublemajors in biology and psychology while working a full-time job. Depue said he's too busy to check his Facebook profile regularly and jokingly added he'd rather live in the real world than on the Internet.
At the same time, he said, he's not immune to Facebook's draws.
"If I wasn't working full-time, I'd be on it more," Depue said.
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CANDIDATES IN CYBERSPACE
"Interests: Basketball, writing, loafing w/ kids. Favorite music: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johann Sebastian Bach (cello suites), and the Fugees … "
-Barack Obama's personal profile on Facebook.com
"I was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of America. From that classic suburban childhood in Park Ridge, Illinois, I went on to become one of America's foremost advocates for children and families … a First Lady for America who helped transform that role, becoming a champion for health care and families at home and a champion of women's rights and human rights around the world."
-Hillary Clinton's personal profile on Facebook.com
"Favorite TV Shows: Yankees Baseball, Saturday Night Live, 24, The Sopranos. Favorite Movies: The Godfather. Favorite Books: Testimony by Nicolas Sarkozy, Churchill, Their Finest Hour, Profiles in Courage, Lincoln, Babe: The Legend Comes to Life."
-Rudy Giuliani's personal profile on Facebook.com
"Ron votes to preserve the constitution. Ron votes to cut government spending. Ron votes to lower healthcare costs. Ron votes to end the war on drugs. Ron votes to protect civil liberties. Ron votes to secure our borders with real immigration reform. Ron votes to eliminate tax funded abortions and to overturn Roe v Wade. Ron votes to protect religious freedom."
-From group "Congressman Ron Paul for President 2008" on Facebook. com
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