Barack Obama has sent you a Friend Request!

That's right, Obama's hip to the new technological groove that is social media. I will be focusing on Barack Obama's use of new communication technologies, because in my humble opinion, he used it the best and as the winner of the election, I'm thinking a lot of other people thought that too.

According to Internet's Broader Role in Campaign 2008, "Nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) say they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet, almost double the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign (13%)." This means that in as little as FOUR years the Internet's influence doubled when it comes to people's perceptions and views concerning politics. It might just be because I was a part of the demographic that was trying to be reached through social media, but this fact isn't surprising. According to the report, the majority of young people (the ever popular 18-49 demographic), said the sources they sought out for information about the election were the internet and social media sites. In fact, they were the number one place they went to. And why wouldn't you take advantage of it? There is so much information just waiting to be found on the internet.

It is interesting to note that while online news outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and Yahoo News were the most frequently mentioned among those who rely on the internet for news, the 18-24 demographic certainly was influenced the most by social networking sites. Obama has an account on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube, just to name the most popular ones. While the perecentages mentioned in the article seem small, the influence of the new media can not truly be measured. Each candidates Facebook accounts were updated with policies and information about themselves in order to better inform the public. Often a side by side comparison of each candidate's views on the popular issues could be found by a simple Google search. And when people can't watch debates, speeches, or commercials when they air on television in real time, they can turn to You Tube to catch up.

And while these new media outlets were used during the elections, it is commendable and smart that Obama is still using these tools to communicate with his constituents. Watch a recent uploaded video by Obama's official You Tube page concerning the latest Health Care reform issue below.