The Advance of Politics & Technology: Part Two

Technology did indeed try to do it’s part for the general election. Did you recently sign into Facebook to be welcomed by an election reminder? Facebook introduced new elements to its layout to enhance the voting experience, including a new feature which allowed you to tell all your friends that you had just voted.

Besides Facebook, WWE Entertainment decided to get involved. All of their shows in the run-up to the general elections saw WWE Superstars reminding their fans to vote on the 6th May. It’s amazing how different emerging mediums can both promote an old democratic process.

The interent hasn’t just helped in the promotion and delivery of politics. When a hung parliament was announced, a flurry of people fled to Wikipedia in an attempt to understand the situation more clearly. Twitter become overrun by hung parliament tweets, and groups began to surface on Facebook almost immediately. These new trends proved a new found interest in politics, in turn showing us how the internet and television has enabled us to explore new levels of previously unfounded politics.

So it seems that at last, modern technology has grabbed politics by the scruff of the neck and given it a good shake.

The question is…what will come out of this blatant assault on ‘old politics’ in the future?

At some point in the near future, the voting system will become predominently based online. This will make it easier to register a vote, speed results up, and allow a wider range of statistics to accompany the results.

We will also see politians taking their campaigns online. They will start sending flyers by email and creating  groups on social networking sites to declare certain policies. This shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing – Politics has needed a 21st makeover for…well, since 2000!

The 2010 General Election saw new trends emerge, and cement a place in delivering ‘new politics‘. Unfortunately, this may be the last time we see ‘old politics‘ in full swing, as technologic advances continue to restructure  the political system, as well as our understanding of politics.

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