Mr. Obama clearly showed the world how to make use of the internet to a politicians benefit. And he did that with panache. He knew that the youth is out there lying “untapped”, and he simply went out and reached out to them through the channels.
BJP, and it’s candidate for PM, Mr. L K Advani, is doing exactly that. Mr. Advani is known for his adaptability to new and fresh ideas and this one, he didn’t miss. Just take a look around and you’ll find him on almost every website you go to.
He’s on Google AdSense, AdWords, Orkut, Facebook, YouTube and he has his own blog.
So this is a new strategy that has grown post Obama induction to India and BJP is the first to embrace it. Advaniji is doing it really well I must say, taking a look at his blog reveals that he’s left no stone unturned.
His blog was launched on Jan 7th as I’m aware, with this first post – where he says,
Welcome, friends, to my blog. My young colleagues who have created this website told me that a political portal without a blog is like a letter without a signature. I quickly accepted this compelling logic.
I am excited by the idea of using the Internet as a platform for political communication and, especially, for election campaign. As someone who has had the good fortune of participating, either as a campaigner or as a candidate, in every single general election in India since the first one held in 1952, I have seen how the tools of communication have evolved. As far communication is concerned, I am technology-agnostic. My philosophy in this matter is simple: anything that works, deserves to be welcomed. In my own political life spanning six decades, I have enthusiastically embraced every new communication technology – from the early simple Casio digital diary to i-pod and i-phone.
There are “viral strategies” adopted too for the blog like the badge for bloggers which says “Bloggers for Advani”.
A clever strategy by BJP, I think they’ve done it well. Well planned and executed. Happy to see it not end up as a half baked cookie.
I won’t be surprised to see Soniya Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and may be even Prakash Karatt to come up with their own social media stunts now.
