Facebook-the political ‘town square’ of America

When a Voices for Planned
Parenthood member wanted to communicate
her pro-choice ideals for
free to as many people as possible,
she turned to social networking Web
site Facebook.com.

“It’s the easiest way to reach
people,” said junior and social-work
major Kristen Epperson, 20, who
created the Facebook group, “My
body – my choice.”

Epperson is not alone. According
to Time magazine story “Facebook
and the Election,” social networking
sites are the new “town square,”
where millions express their political
beliefs and where political
campaigns lobby for support.

“In the ’90s, the message was
‘Rock the Vote.’ Now it’s time to
‘Facebook’ it,” the article states.

VCU students have founded more
than 500 Facebook groups, which
have profiles that allow users to
become group members, write on
message boards and post pictures,
videos and announcements. Among
these groups, 35 are registered as
political groups and 35 are registered
as current events groups.

According to its Web site, Facebook
has more than 54 million users.
Most users spend an average of 20
minutes on the site every day, and
the site is the sixth-most trafficked
in the United States. Although
Facebook originally was restricted
to college-student use, in September
2006, it was made available to
anybody with an e-mail account.

Among those who have taken
advantage of the site’s new accessibility
are state and national
politicians.

Time magazine reported state
politicians began buying ad space
on Facebook last September.

And with the 2008 presidential
election less than a year away,
presidential candidates are turning
to Facebook, as well.

To generate user support, some
candidates have established personal
profiles, which are formatted to look
like regular users’ profiles.

But instead of listing friends,
political profiles list “supporters”
– users who have added their names
to a list of those who publicly favor
the candidate.

Democratic Presidential candidate
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s personal pro-
file currently has more than 51,500
supporters. The page includes links
to her official Web site, photos and
a blog. Clinton’s last blog post is
about Veteran’s Day, which took
place Monday.

At the same time, user groups protest
candidates, as well.

The Facebook group, “Stop Hillary
Clinton: (One million strong AGAINST
Hillary),” has more than 565,000 members,
and the group, “Hillary Clinton:
Stop running for President and Make
Me a Sandwich,” has more than 22,000
members.

“Hillary Clinton is the antichrist,”
states a post on the page for the group,
“ANTI Hillary Clinton for president 08,”
which has more than 65,000 members.

Fellow Democratic presidential candidate
Sen. Barack Obama also has a
personal profile on Facebook, which has
more than 160,000 supporters.

Numerous user-created groups support
his candidacy, as well. Among these
groups, the group, “Barack Obama: One
Million Strong for Obama,” has the most
members, nearing 400,000. VCU group
“Barack Obama’s My Baby’s Momma” has
four members.

“Yes, sexiness has officially merged
with articulate speech capabilities and
competence … and entered the political
arena,” the VCU group states in its
description.

The largest anti-Obama group has
802 members.

Facebook groups also have been
created for Republican candidates Rudy
Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John
McCain, yet the group “Congressman
Ron Paul for President” has the most
support at almost 43,000 members. Last
week, Paul made headlines when The
Associated Press reported his campaign
had raised $4.2 million in 24 hours.

“We need to start a grassroots operation
… and tell anyone and everyone all
the good things about Ron Paul. .
He is the only good person running
for president,” one user states on the
“Congressman Ron Paul for President”
wall, or message board.

Mitt Romney ranks second among
Republican candidates with the Facebook
group, “Mitt Romney (One Million Strong
for Mitt),” which has more than 15,500
members. While McCain’s personal
profile has a little more than 13,000
supporters, Giuliani’s personal profile
only has about 9,750 supporters.

Yet, Clinton’s, Obama’s and Paul’s
largest support groups combined are
no match for Facebook users’ support
of comedian and “Colbert Report” host
Stephen Colbert, who failed last week
to acquire a spot on the South Carolina
Democratic primary ballot because he
was not deemed a viable candidate. The
pro-Colbert group, “1,000,000 Strong for
Stephen Colbert,” has almost 1.5 million
members to date.

But these group profiles might not be
reaching everyone.

Senior Steven Depue, 27, doublemajors
in biology and psychology while
working a full-time job. Depue said
he’s too busy to check his Facebook
profile regularly and jokingly added he’d
rather live in the real world than on the
Internet.

At the same time, he said, he’s not
immune to Facebook’s draws.

“If I wasn’t working full-time, I’d be
on it more,” Depue said.

—
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CANDIDATES IN
CYBERSPACE

“Interests: Basketball, writing, loafing
w/ kids. Favorite music: Miles Davis,
John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie
Wonder, Johann Sebastian Bach (cello
suites), and the Fugees . “

-Barack Obama’s personal profile on
Facebook.com

“I was raised in a middle-class family
in the middle of America. From that
classic suburban childhood in Park
Ridge, Illinois, I went on to become one
of America’s foremost advocates for
children and families . a First Lady for
America who helped transform that role,
becoming a champion for health care
and families at home and a champion
of women’s rights and human rights
around the world.”

-Hillary Clinton’s personal profile on
Facebook.com

“Favorite TV Shows: Yankees Baseball,
Saturday Night Live, 24, The Sopranos.
Favorite Movies: The Godfather. Favorite
Books: Testimony by Nicolas Sarkozy,
Churchill, Their Finest Hour, Profiles in
Courage, Lincoln, Babe: The Legend
Comes to Life.”

-Rudy Giuliani’s personal profile on
Facebook.com

“Ron votes to preserve the constitution.
Ron votes to cut government spending.
Ron votes to lower healthcare costs.
Ron votes to end the war on drugs.
Ron votes to protect civil liberties.
Ron votes to secure our borders with
real immigration reform.
Ron votes to eliminate tax funded
abortions and to overturn Roe v Wade.
Ron votes to protect religious freedom.”

-From group “Congressman Ron
Paul for President 2008” on Facebook.
com