BARACK OBAMA’S 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AND ELECTORAL STRATEGIES ENHANCEMENT THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING

The particular electoral style adopted by Barack Obama in 2008 engendered many media reactions giving place to antagonism that split between supporters and opponents and triggered a serious debate on the uniqueness of political communication strategies. Reliance on social networking reflects one of the key strategies adopted by the Democratic candidate. This strategy is embodied in the formation and functioning of an army of volunteers and activists working through the media and its management by communicating organizers and experts in the field under scrutiny. This paper aims to analyze the phenomenon of social networking and evaluate its actual contribution to the emergence of a social movement without neglecting the essential objective which is interpreted by electoral gains. This paper also considers the discursive practices of the applicant and its communication policy implemented through political slogans and tools as initiators which, in turn, generated the promotion of social networking in the Obama campaign of 2008 and rendered it exceptional.

Keywords: Barack Obama, campaign strategies, digital technology, new media, social networks.