Facebook and other social networking sites have become a focal point of advertising. Companies ranging from large to local fill up our sidebars with deals personalized just for us.
Politicians have caught on with the phenomenon of advertising on these sites to help build support for their campaign.
Allegheny is no exception to the Facebook movement. Many may have noticed the recent spike in group invitations overflowing their inboxes.
This increase means Allegheny Student Government elections are in full swing for the new year. It doesn’t take much effort to create a Facebook group and search how to write a platform.
Candidates rush to their computers to create a Facebook group and invite everyone humanly possible. They purge their profiles of any incriminating statuses and any risqué pictures from late at night. Five minutes later we have a full group up and running, with long platforms heavily relying on thesaurus.com.
Many of the platforms contain an embellished resume of former accomplishments, but all those honors and leadership positions can’t replace making a personal connection with voters.
Not many people are going to remember when voting who was the valedictorian or who was president of a community service club.
Someone’s personality is more memorable than the words on your laptop. What happened to the days where candidates campaigned using their personalities and not their computers?
When Bill Clinton was campaigning he had a personal connection with the voters. He dined with the big shots, kissed a couple of babies and went out into the rain and shook hands with voters on Election Day.
If Clinton can visit at least two states in one day during the primaries, it should not be that hard to visit some dorms.
Saying you are personable and friendly means nothing if you can’t prove it to the voters.
One social event will not make a big difference; those traits actually have to be part of your personality.
Maybe Clinton was a little too personal with certain people, but he was on the right track.
The information we toss into cyberspace about ourselves only scratches the surface of who we really are. We put the information, pictures and statuses out there because those are the facts that we want others to see.
The information found on social networking sites doesn’t replace a first impression, which has a bigger impact on the results of an election than how many Facebook friends support you.
Most candidates write that they will represent our class with poise and a strong voice, but what issues need to be voiced?
Throughout these groups no specific issues are mentioned, nor are any questions asked about what we as a class want. Candidates should show us what they’re really like.
Ask people in Brooks what they want changed, talk to people in Baldwin, Crawford and other dorms, and find out what they expect from a candidate.
A campaign based solely on Facebook and adding as many friends as Mark Zuckerberg has isn’t taking much initiative.
As a senator you are representing a class of different interests, styles and opinions; meeting voters face to face more than once is the key to being memorable.
If you plan to build a sustainable community, you need to know your community members or you will be representing yourself and not your class.