Facebook makes Obama?

Barack Obama’s victory at the Iowa Democratic caucus, last Thursday night, is being reported the world over as one of the major political milestones in American history. A nation, which only 40 years ago was still coming to terms with universal civil rights, is now starting to embrace the campaign of the first serious black contender for the Oval Office.

Behind Obama’s success lies an equally inspiring movement which came to light on post mortem of the results from Iowa. In a record turnout of participants, which almost doubled the number from the 2004 caucus, was a significant proportion of young people.

Voter apathy is notorious for being malignant in US elections. This has particularly been the case among the youngest demographic of voters, 18-24 year olds. Young people have often already been derided by the political process by the time they become conscious of it. This plays out in matters ranging from higher education policy to the strains on first time property buyers.

So what was it that drew numbers of young voters in their hoards like never before? Obama certainly did a lot of his campaigning in front of college students and even high school kids, but perhaps the pervasiveness of his message was thanks to a wider platform – the social web.

The Internet is increasingly being recognised as the default medium of information for young people. Accordingly, political candidates aim to perpetuate their Internet presence and reach out to younger voters by leveraging Web 2.0 tools. You can be Obama’s friend on Myspace or Facebook, view the pictures from his campaign trail on Flickr, watch his videos on YouTube, follow the top web articles published about him on Digg. You can even download an Obama ringtone for your mobile from his campaign website!

The Internet has often been championed as the vehicle for democracy. Obama’s message carried by the Internet might just be enough to deliver the world its first black American president.