Segmenting voters online: the youth vote

This paper will build on previous work that has examined the impact of the Internet on political processes, such as the work of Gibson and Ward (1998, 2003) and Dermody and Wring (2001). Most of this work has focused on developing frameworks with which to analyse the effectiveness of these websites. Our approach complements this earlier work by utilizing an interpretive methodology (Thompson, 1996) to gain a deeper insight into end-users perceptions of political parties' websites. This paper will discuss the activities of young people on the Net and outline some of the reasons why political parties' websites are failing to attract a younger audience. A consideration of the technical factors that make a good website will be followed by in-depth interviews with young people to elicit their views and experiences of political parties' websites. At a time when voter apathy is at an all time low, this study is especially relevant

From the Air to the Ground: The internet in the 2004 US Presidential Campaign

Political campaigns have learned how to take advantage of on line tools not only to communicate their message, but also, and more importantly, to mobilize supporters and provide opportunities for e-volunteers to become engaged in the process. Among the most significant developments in the 2004 US presidential election were strategies and tools designed to facilitate the transition from on-line to off-line engagement, thus strengthening field operations in a campaign where the ground game proved to be a crucial asset. These topics are addressed through in-depth qualitative interviews with senior aides to the e-campaigns of George W. Bush and John F. Kerry. On line political communication professionals predict that in the future the internet will become an increasingly relevant tool in campaigns and that its functions will be adopted all through the campaign organization