Use of social computing tools in Barack Obama's election campaign

• Main Author: V Krithika
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Mass media::Alternative media
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44830
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study examines the use of Social Computing Tools (SCTs) by Barack Obama during his presidential elections campaign in the year 2008. Since there is no concrete data related to the exact objectives of his campaign, after researching several sources, the author identifies the key objectives that Obama and his campaign managers would have set for themselves. The author then examines in detail how Obama used various Social Computing Tools to meet these identified objectives. Before addressing the aforementioned objectives, the author presents a literature review on Social Computing Tools available currently, the US Presidential Election process and the usage of Social Computing Tools in politics. This paper presents the key SCTs that politicians, leaders and organizations can use to meet objectives similar to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.