by Christine Stuart
CtNewsJunkie
Most people think of liberal bloggers as a bunch of 20-somethings living in their mother’s basement and communicating by carrier pigeon because they think their phones are tapped, Tim Tagaris, Internet director for Ned Lamont and Chris Dodd, said. “It’s Americans with computers,” Tagaris said Thursday during a panel discussion on “Campaigning on the Web” at the University of Connecticut Law School.
He said research shows most bloggers are college educated and opinion leaders in social circles. Melissa Ryan of Act Blue, formerly a blogger with CTLocalPolitics.net, said bloggers are ordinary citizens who love politics. She said it’s a misconception that bloggers are only active in a virtual world. In reality bloggers are campaign volunteers, members of their local Democratic Town Committees, and fundraisers, she said.
Diana Cohen, a visiting assistant professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College, said her case study of the Ned Lamont campaign found his decision to value the Internet helped his campaign make face-to-face connections with voters in his race against U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Tagaris, who led Lamont’s online campaign, said the bloggers were also able to impact traditional media on the campaign for forcing them to ask the tough questions, such as “Will you support the Democratic nominee after the primary?” The question ended up being crucial to the momentum of the campaign since Lamont won the party’s nomination by more than 10,000 votes. And even though he failed to win the general election, his campaign will be studied for years to come, Cohen said.
1 comment:
Great article about Bloggers. Just as text messaging has become mainstream, so now is blogging. These are no longer toys for the young only. They are the new tools of this generation.
But there is a threat out there which could cause bloggers to sit up and take notice. More cases are cropping up where bloggers are being held responsible for the comments made on their blogs. Blog owners need to be aware and careful about what gets published.
There is a local CT case from Derby which may get some national attention. While blogging is not at the forefront of the case, it's mentioned in the suit and the blog owner (from Enfield?) is named as a defendent for publishing and republishing content thought to be defamatory and damaging to the plaintiff. This will be one to watch.
Legal disclaimer: All references to anyone living or dead in this comment are made up and in no way representative of someone living or just taking up space here on Earth. No animals were harmed making this comment either.
I hope that covers it. Blog on!
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