New Media and Social Media in the Political Communication

• Author: Antonio Momoc
• Pages: 550-557

European Integration -

Realities

550

New Media and S

University of Buchare

Abstract:

This study presen

candidates interacted with the

2004 online electoral campaig

participation (the number of p

participating at the poll) is ju

number

of internet subscribers

are the entertainment dedicate

This research intends to clea

candidates or the extremist can

the research called

Electoral

Presidential Campaigns

which

and political a pplied sciences.

the field of the socio-

human an

Keywords:

elections; presiden

1. Introduction

Is technology transforming us cul

who use it? The answer to the

McLuhan’s supporters, who belie

environment; and the critics of M

Related to the new media, there

embracing it p

roclaim that intern

market, the possibility to conte

researchers who are optimistic ab

the blogs and forums, and about

communities have. Their observ

economical and cultural b

enefits o

There is also a pessimistic ideolo

society and claiming that in realit

misleading the public

into thinki

es and Perspectives

d Social Media in the Political Commun

Antonio Momoc

arest, post

-

doctoral researcher in Communications

am@antoniomomoc.ro

sents the 2009 Romanian presidential elections and the w

he new communication technologies. After the first research

aigns, we noticed that, in Romania, the

degree of alphabetiza

f p eople knowing how to read and write, or the number of

just as small as it was after the mass internet was introdu

ers increased. We observed that the websites and blogs with t

ated ones, the tabloids, and not the cultural ones, not the qua

lear up whether in R

omania social media are rather helpi

candidates

–

from an electoral point of view. This article will b

ral Communication in Romania after 1989. Old and New

ich is part of the post

-doctoral program

POSDRU/89/1.5/S/622

es. Post

-doctoral training p rogram and post-

doctoral researc

and political scie

nces.

ential; participation; online; Facebook

culturally or is technology transformed according to

hese questions divides the researchers into two

elieve that the new communica

tion techniques are in

McLuhan’s theory, who think that this influence is

re is an optimistic ideology of the web 2.0 partic

ernet offers quick access to information, pluralism

ntest power, and confers a critical perspective

about web 2.0 talk about the citizen jo

urnalism th

ut the good intentions that the creators of the virtu

ervations lead them to the optimist conclusion r

its of internet.

ology that criticizes internet, reproaching that it doe

ality it offers a fake freedom of expression and a fak

nking they have power, and therefore building a f

2011

unication

ns Sciences,

way in which the

ch conducted on the

ization and political

of those effectively

duced and after the

th the highest traffic

quality online press.

lping the moderate

ll be incorporated in

New Technologies i

n

62259, Socio

-human

arch scholarships in

g to the culture of those

o categories: Marshall

e influencing the social

is insignificant.

rticipation. The authors

m of ideas on the open

e to the citizen. The

that is manifesting on

rtual worlds and online

n regarding the social,

oesn’t democratize the

fake participation form,

a fake democracy. The