Fund Racing

Over time money has influenced politics more and more. Never has this been so prevalent than in the technological era. E-commerce has given rise to candidates who may not have had a chance otherwise, such as Ron Paul who in his 2012 money-bomb raised over half a million dollars in one day. This internet fundraising has also given a substantial advantage to certain candidates over others. McCain in 2008 also raised half a million in one day but in the long term fell to Obama and his persistent tactics through social media and mobile technology.   

Campaigning is a race and the most efficient path is what is going to get you to the finish line.  In the Obama 2012 campaign, online fundraising reported to have raised $690 million online.  Mitt Romney’s online fundraising did not come close to Obama's. While Romney relied less on large-dollar contributions Obama took more low-dollar contributions over the course of the election.  

Just like any other competition there are tactics and strategies that build the better course of action.  Obama used E-mail and fundraising websites to raise money online and this is where two thirds of the donated money came from. Colin Delany of epoliticts.com states, “the combination of an email list and a fundraising website STILL blows every other channel out of the water as a dollar-raising tool”.  He also states, “You should go where your audience is” which is the internet.  The majority of our society uses the internet whether it is on their phone, computer or tablet.  It’s on a level of convenience and just makes it much easier for supporters to donate towards their interest at their fingertips.

Money will continue to influence politics as long as we live in this capitalistic society. Politicians in the following years and decades will have to learn how to adapt and maneuver through this technological age.

 

http://www.epolitics.com/2009/08/27/two-thirds-of-obamas-online-fundraising-was-via-email/

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/04/10/12478/political-strategists-praise-power-online-fundraising

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/may/18/pauls-final-moneybomb-draws-half-million/ 

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/04/how-technology-changed-american-politics-in-the-internet-age096/

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/07/nation/la-na-campaign-money-20121207

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-12-17-internet-cash_x.htm

The Great Firewall of China

Over the past few months, there has been much concern relating privacy and government interaction within our online activities. Data mining has made many Americans question how much the government actually knows about us personally. Information concerning what we like, where we go, and the people we associate with is forever recorded into a database. Yet in China, it is not a question of what the people want the government to know, but rather what the government allows it’s citizens to know.

Online information that is accessible to us everyday may not be available in China. Under the Golden Shield Project, the government is allowed to control what it’s citizen’s can and cannot view on the internet. Websites that seem distasteful to the government are censored from the public. If a Chinese citizen was to type a word like “democracy” into a search engine, the results would all read as an error. Below is a link to a website that allows you to type in a website address to see if that website is censored in China.  It’s likely that you’ll find most websites to be blocked. 

http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/index.php

Last year, Harvard political science professor Gary King conducted a study of the Chinese government’s censorship through the creating of a fake social network. With the launch of this site (who’s URL he will not divulge) King hoped to catch a glimpse over the great wall of Chinese federal censorship. Surprisingly, the Chinese government relies on competitive system in which native companies bid on government issued contracts to censor their fellow citizens. In the past similar studies simply monitored social networks to see which posts ‘disappeared’. Creating a company and working with major Chinese internet and software providers allowed King and his team to witness firsthand the degree and methods of censorship used. “When we had a questions, we just called customer service. They were being paid to help us.” said King. 

In managing their site, the software that King’s team purchased came with automated processes that could analyze, flag and hold back posts that matched cretin criteria. Using this software specific IP addresses could then be individually targeted for increased censorship and even surveillance. When his team contacted the softwares company’s customer service they learned that could pay for additional more focused features to filter content. Their inquires also shed light on the number of censors actively screening online content. “King was told that to keep the government happy a site should employ two or three censors for every 50,000 users. Based on that, he estimates that there are between 50,000 and 75,000 censors working at internet companies inside China. 

In 2009, Chinese citizens came together in a protest known as the Doo Dah Protest. In the months following, social media was banned including sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It doesn’t seem that Chinese citizens are particularly excited about the Golden Shield Project. With no social media, political mobilization becomes much more difficult for those who want to take action against the censorship. It is unknown how long the censorship will be in effect, but until then the Chinese citizens will have to live a life many young Americans could never imagine: a life with no Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Would you rather have the government know all about you or have limited access to information? 

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/519066/academics-launch-fake-social-network-to-get-an-inside-look-at-chinese-censorship/

http://thediplomat.com/china-power/beyond-the-great-firewall-how-and-what-china-censors-2/

No more Privacy in Politics

The more politicians who depend on technology the more likely the privacy of those is vulnerable.  Imagine the internet, mobile devices, tablets etc. always open to attacks by hackers trying to expose the affluent and/or politically powered people. Without IT this wouldn’t be an issue but everything has its pros and cons.  In this case, IT is an advancement for everyone but comes with a price.  Russian computer-security expert and CEO of antivirus software firm, Eugene Kaspersky said “There is no more privacy”.  He also states,

“We depend on IT in all our critical infrastructure—like power plants, power grid, transportation, health care, finances. Unfortunately it's not difficult to attack these systems and we've had examples in the past…. For enterprises, I think the second thing for them is espionage attacks because there are so many, and it's a very serious problem. I'm not surprised if all the data in the world has been stolen already, at least twice. For consumers, I think the next issue is mobile security on smartphones and tablets.” --Eugene Kaspersky

                                 

 Within this article I like to point out the issue of mobile security on smartphones and tablets especially now with the new iPhone 5S releasing this week with its new finger print scanner.  Privacy is paid for and lost all at the same time.  The iPhone 5s is less prone to attacks compared to androids according to Kaspersky but it is possible for iPhone’s to be attacked and could be a very dangerous scenario.  If the lot of the new iPhone 5s’s were attacked that would mean any politician who has private information on their iPhone will have his information exposed.  It is safe to say that IT can never have too much protection, but as of now there are possibilities of intruding the privacy of everyone.



   Cohen, Steve. "The Impact of Technology on Political Communication." The New York Observer. WordPress, 23 June 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://observer.com/2009/06/the-impact-of-technology-on-political-communication/>.

Paul Sonne. "There is no more Privacy." Wall Street Journal. Sept. 3, 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. < http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324432404579053091175949708.html >