The Net in Canadian election
p2p news / p2pnet: The Liberals, NDP and Conservative parties, all vying for votes in the latest Canadian election campaign, are trying everything from blogs and podcasts to text messaging and viral advertising, says CTV.
Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe is the only Canadian party head with his own blog, though the party says it’s written by a staff member based on conversations with Duceppe, says CTV.
It’s also the only party blog that allows users to post.
But freedom of speech is banned on the site. "Bloc spokesman Eric Côté says that while some negative comments are allowed, there is a screening process," says the story.
Here’s what’s happening, says CTV:
Text messaging: For the second time, the parties are using text messaging to connect with young and future voters. They can sign up with the party of their choice to receive news by cellphone, and to participate in mobile polls.
Podcasts: The Conservative Party is first out of the gate with podcasts, which allow users to download audio and/or video files to an MP3 player such as an iPod. The podcasts feature ads and speeches by Stephen Harper.
Viral advertising: The new holy grail for advertisers such as Nike and Burger King is to create ads so popular that they "go viral," getting passed on from person to person over the Internet. The NDP released two viral ads last Thursday, through e-mails sent to 30,000 supporters. By Monday, the ads had been viewed by 16,000 people who were not on the original list. One supporter passed the ad on to 98 friends.
Read:-
CTV – Parties’ rush to embrace new media can sometimes backfire, December 15, 2005
