Candidates Make Good Friends: An Analysis of Candidates' Uses of Facebook
- 11 July 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Strategic Communication
- Vol. 2 (3) , 175-198
- https://doi.org/10.1080/15531180802178687
Abstract
Through content analysis of Facebook wall comments in U.S. House and Senate races during the 2006 midterm election, this study describes young potential voters' comments (quantity, valence, etc.) through the lens of the dialogic communication theory of public relations. Findings indicate that individuals who wrote on candidate walls perceive themselves on friendly terms with the candidates, overwhelmingly write messages that are shallow and supportive, and are positive in tone. Candidates rarely, if ever, respond to these messages; although the mere use of Facebook is a dialogic feature, researchers conclude campaigns are not using it for two-way symmetrical relationship building.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Wha'd'ya Know?American Behavioral Scientist, 2007
- Candidate Campaign BlogsAmerican Behavioral Scientist, 2007
- Candidate Campaign E-Mail Messages in the Presidential Election 2004American Behavioral Scientist, 2005
- What Voters Want From Political Campaign CommunicationPolitical Communication, 2005
- Beyond Direct MailJournal of E-Government, 2004
- Text‐based interactivity in candidate campaign web sites: A case study from the 2002 electionsWestern Journal of Communication, 2004
- Internet-Based Communication in Crisis ManagementManagement Communication Quarterly, 2003
- On-Line Interaction and Why Candidates Avoid ItJournal of Communication, 2000
- Replicating Experiments Using Aggregate and Survey Data: The Case of Negative Advertising and TurnoutAmerican Political Science Review, 1999
- Ethical Judgments of Political Television Commercials as Predictors of Attitude toward the AdJournal of Advertising, 1994