President Obama’s Social Media Performance

Friday, October 02, 2009

Following his election in November, Candidate Obama’s social network received heaps of praise for its role in electing the 44th President. 

Pundits predicted this network would be invaluable over the next four (or eight) years as the President worked to carry out his agenda.  The conservative opposition, recognizing they were behind the eight ball, began organizing to counter using the same techniques.  And through it all, social networking gurus and proponents touted the importance of new media, “Social media elected Barack Obama.”

Almost a year from his election, and about 9 months since his inauguration, how has the network performed for the President?

Organizing for America still sees over 1.5 million unique visitors every month.  Posts on the site’s blog garner 500 plus comments, no matter the topic.  And the organization’s Flickr page shows photos of events and rally across the country every day in support of the President’s agenda.

But there are clearly cracks.  Much of the President’s domestic agenda is stuck in the mud, as both Republicans and various Democratic coalitions have raised objections to his initiatives.  While the President has tried to tap the network in some areas, most visibly regarding health care reform, it is doesn’t appear the net roots aren’t as influential as once thought and really haven’t been able to deliver a win similar to November 4, 2008.

Just today, it would seem that the Chicago Olympics were something the network could have mobilized behind.  While unlikely it would have affected the outcome, it seems strange there was no grassroots push on an issue the President staked a level of capital on, and a pitch that seemingly would have benefited from a show of support from folks here on the ground.

It is possible that the emergence of effective opposition onto the web has marginalized Organizing for America’s influence; turning it all into a bunch of noise.  Or maybe in the off year it is simply that the coalition isn’t as united around the parts or the policy as they are the whole or the man. 

Either way, the first nine months of the President Obama’s new media strategy have proven to be significantly less effective than the pundits would have imagined at the start of the year.