Political Campaigns

#47: GDPR and Political Campaigning, with Brendan Tobin

May 22, 2018 Digital Strategists

Brendan Tobin, Head of Growth at Ecanvasser, discusses how the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will affect political campaigning in the European Union. We talk about what GDPR is, how it will be enforced by legislators, and what the implications of this new regulation are for democracy. Given the multi-level governance structure of the EU, it will take some time to see how GDPR will influence how campaigns engage with companies like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube. Subscribe to the Social Media and Politics Podcast to keep up to date with all the latest developments in the social media space!

#46: Mobilizing the Pack for Political Campaigns and Advocacy, with Tom Lillywhite

May 7, 2018 Digital Strategists

Tom Lillywhite, founder of Wilder Digital and the digital campaigning tool ‘Pack‘, joins the podcast to discuss how political campaigns and organizations can mobilize supporters to increase organic reach on social media. We discuss how crowdsourcing ardent supporters can increase organic reach on Facebook and Twitter, as well as how Pack is currently being used for advocacy groups and the Camden Labour Party.

#39: Data, Democracy, and the Role of Technology in Politics, with Dr. Daniel Kreiss

November 26, 2017 Academics

Dr. Daniel Kreiss, Associate Professor at the School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins the podcast to discuss the role of data, social media, and technology in contemporary electoral campaigning. We discuss Dr. Kreiss’ recent book, Prototype Politics, and dig into how Republicans and Democrats have built up their data infrastructures over time. We talk about the relationships between campaigns and representatives at tech firms like Facebook, Google, and Twitter, Russian intervention in US democracy, and whether regulation from governments is needed in this space moving forward.

#29: Citizen Marketers and the Bernie Sanders Campaign on Social Media, with Dr. Joel Penney

July 9, 2017 Academics

Dr. Joel Penney, Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University, discusses his new book “The Citizen Marketer: Promoting Political Opinion in the Social Media Age“. The book explores how everyday citizens actively assist in the promotion of political messages through their social media activity, following logics of viral marketing to enact persuasion at a peer-to-peer level. Dr. Penney shares his research on the Bernie Sanders campaign and the role that citizens played on social media, and Facebook in particular, to help the campaign get out its message through official and unofficial channels.

 

#25: The 2017 British Elections on Social Media, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten

June 10, 2017 Academics

Host Michael Bossetta and Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten discuss parties and citizens used social media to campaign in the 2017 UK General Elections, where Theresa May’s gamble to call a snap election backfired on her Conservative Party. We break down the election results and their implications for Brexit. We also look at how Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat were used by the major parties and their supporters during the campaign.

#24: Donald Trump and Scott Walker’s Digital Strategy on Social Media, with Matthew Oczkowski

May 29, 2017 Digital Strategists

Matthew Oczkowski, (former) Head of Product at Cambridge Analytica, joins the show to discuss his experience heading digital strategy for the Scott Walker primary campaign and Donald Trump general election. We discuss how the candidates used Snapchat and other social media, the differences between primary and general election campaigning in terms of digital strategy and marketing, and we also discuss how microtargeting works in practice.

This episode was featured in the Financial Times and American Majority.

#23: Snapchat and the Marco Rubio Campaign, with Eric Wilson

May 22, 2017 Digital Strategists

Eric Wilson, Digital Director for the Marco Rubio for President campaign, shares his expert insights into how the Rubio campaign used social media in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. We focus on Snapchat and discuss how the platform was used to reach voters, how the campaign crafted Snapchat stories, and where Snapchat fit into the campaign’s overall social media strategy. Eric also discusses how Snapchat was used to promote a ‘Vote Early Day’ initiative that set off media coverage and tweets from Donald Trump on Twitter, as well as how a Snapchat lens was used in the Australia federal elections the same year. You can follow Eric on Twitter, @EricWilson, and check out his weekly newsletter: www.learntestoptomize.com.

#22: American Politics and Social Media, with Dr. Alan Rosenblatt

May 15, 2017 Academics

Dr. Alan Rosenblatt, Director for Digital Research at Lake Research Partners and Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy at Turner4D, shares his insights into how politicians have historically used the internet to campaign, going back to the first campaign websites. We discuss how social media influences campaigns and advocacy, the current state of opinion polling, and the 2016 U.S. elections between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

#21: The French Elections and Social Media Part 2: Le Pen versus Macron and Predicting Election Outcomes, with Dr. Antoine Bevort

May 4, 2017 Academics

Dr. Antoine Bevort, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at le Cnam, gives his take on what a Marine Le Pen or Emmanuel Macron victory in the French elections would mean for France. We discuss Dr. Bevort’s research into how social media can be a predictor for public opinion, and we also touch upon how bots and fake accounts fit into the sociology theory of social capital.

You can find out more about Dr. Bevort and his research at www.antoinebevort.blogspot.com.