From Brochureware to ‘MyBo’: An Overview of Online Elections and Campaigning
| Date | 01 June 2012 |
| Author | Rachel Gibson |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9256.2012.01429.x |
| Published date | 01 June 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Research and Analysis |
Research and Analysis
From Brochureware to ‘MyBo’: An
Overview of Online Elections and
Campaigningponl_142977..84
Rachel Gibson
University of Manchester
Online campaigning raises provocative questions about whether modern-day electioneering is
becoming a more participatory and grass-roots affair, and whether use of digital tools can actually
affect the outcome of a race? This article provides an overview of some of the key debates and
findings that have emerged in relation to these and other questions posed in the literature.
Specifically, we review studies of the supply side of online campaigns – who is adopting the new
digital tools and how are they being used? We also look at the demand side of the process and
profile arguments made for voter impact.
Introduction
The study of online campaigning occupies a small but increasingly important area
of study for political science. Sitting at the intersection of the political communi-
cation, election campaigning and party change literatures it raises some new and
provocative questions about whether modern-day electioneering is becoming a
more participatory and grass-roots affair, and whether use of digital tools can
actually affect the outcome of a race. In this short overview we aim to profile some
of the key debates and findings that have emerged in relation to these and other
questions posed in the literature. Specifically, we break our review down into three
core areas: those studies that have focused on the ‘what’ or contents of online
campaigns; those that have examined the question of ‘why’ in terms of explaining
the adoption of the new digital tools; and finally those that examined the ‘so what’
question, looking at voter effects. To a degree these focuses have also proceeded in
a chronological fashion. Starting in the latter part of the 1990s, scholars in the US
and UK began with a close examination of campaign websites in national elections,
identifying a range of core functions that parties were transferring into cyberspace
and comparing them on the performance of these functions. Soon afterwards,
research expanded to focus on more causal questions of uptake and impact, shifting
the lens down to online campaigning at the local level. Who was using the new
digital tools, and more importantly perhaps, were they gaining any electoral ben-
efits from doing so? Below we review these three areas of academic study and
profile their key conclusions. Finally, we articulate some considerations for future
studies of Internet campaigning to take into account.
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POLITICS: 2012 VOL 32(2), 77–84
© 2012 The Author.Politics © 2012 Political Studies Association
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