ABC News made presidential debate history Saturday, Jan. 5, when it teamed up with the social networking Web site Facebook.com to host the New Hampshire presidential debates. This debate marks the first time a news organization partnered with a social network and featured polls of their users during the debates. But it follows the idea CNN had when it teamed up with YouTube.com in July 2007: Get more people, young and old, involved in the political process. The debates followed traditional models with the parties debating separately. But a brief yet unprecedented meeting of top presidential contenders from both parties followed when the debate moderator asked the Democratic presidential hopefuls to join their Republican counterparts on stage in between the parties’ debates. After both parties’ debates, ABC aired live results of polls taken of Facebook users and discussion board comments regarding myriad issues, including candidates’ performance during the debates. YouTube had users record themselves asking questions that were aired for presidential candidates to answer during the CNN Democratic party debate this past July. A month later, MTV and MySpace.com announced their partnership on a series of conversations with candidates to be aired on the Internet. Though these are the precedents, the ABC/Facebook duo is the first one of its magnitude and may be a model for future partnerships. Kirby Goidel, political communication professor, said politicians are still struggling to figure out how to use social networking Web sites like Facebook. He said until politicians figure it out, the public will continue to see experimental collaborations like the ABC/Facebook debates. “[Social networking sites] present a challenge to people using old-style campaigning. It allows for quicker and more effective counters and charges,” Goidel said. Goidel said social networking Web sites allow candidates to access an extraordinary amount of people at one time, which makes it easier to combat accusations opponents make. He also said the sites makes it easier for news to travel, which may change the way campaigns are managed. “There are more branches coming off the ‘debate tree,'” he said. An example of this phenomenon is when an angered Hillary Clinton defended her position as a candidate of change during the Facebook / ABC debate. Clinton asserted she is a proven maker of change and better than others who just talk about change. Clinton’s words were all over social network channels and even those who did not see the debate were able to quote her. Goidel said the partnership between media networks and social networking sites reveals a trend that news organizations are coming to terms with the technology that may change what people refer to as news sources. He said the collaboration is also meant to draw in younger audiences and make them feel they are a part of the political process. Andy Palermo, accounting sophomore who watched the debates, agrees combinations like Facebook and ABC give young people a greater role in the election process. “I finally feel like politicians are finally listening to students,” Palermo said. “The partnership is showing they are finally listening to young voters.” Although 81 percent of Facebook users said the Facebook/ABC debates helped them decide whom to vote for, some University students disagreed. “[The debate] reinforced what I already believed,” said Heidi Schaff, a business graduate student who watched the debates. “What influences my opinions now is that I have been reading more.” Schaff said the charisma some political candidates possess is often misleading. Palermo said he had already done his research before the debates and had already chosen his candidate. Schaff disagrees with ABC’s assertion that the Facebook polls gave a snapshot of viewer sentiments. “I think since Facebook is used by mostly young people, the results of the polls are skewed to the left,” Schaff said. Goidel agreed. He said Facebook is as much of a snapshot of what America thinks as the Iowa primary is because neither is a definite picture of what will happen in November.
—-Contact Allen Womble at [email protected]