360DigitalInfluence

Early in this Presidential primary season, many wondered what the cumulative impact of the “MySpace Effect” would be. Candidates raced to set up profiles, compile their playlists and amass friends - hoping that reaching out to 18 - 25 year olds on their own turf would translaste into votes on election days. (For the record, youth voting figures doubled, trippled and even quadrupled in some Super Tuesday states, rewarding candidates like Mr. Obama who went after this group hard early on.)

Another noteworthy trend this season has been citizen use of social media tools to create what amounts to user generated ads for or against certain candidates. A few notable examples:

Vote Different Video
This mashup of Apple’s famous 1984 ad, created by an Obama supporter, appeared 11 months ago and various versions have racked up over 5.5 million views.

Will.i.am’s Yes We Can Video
Uploaded 1 month ago, this video features Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am and assorted celebrities singing the lyrics of Mr. Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech. Various versions now have over 10 million views, and the video has been picked up by hundreds of bloggers, the New York Times and People magazine. (This video also marks what seems to be the first appearance by Tatyana Ali since Fresh Prince of Bel-Air went off TV in ‘96)

John.He.Is Video
A send up of the Yes We Can video features individuals speaking over various McCain speeches, emphasizing phrases like “Bomb Iran, Bomb Bomb Iran” and Mr. McCain’s remark about being in Iraq for 100 years. Over 1 million views in approximately 1 week.

I know there are dozens more examples from the I Gotta Crush on Obama girl to HillaryIsMomJeans.com (please feel free to add other notables in the comments!) All this makes me believe that social media has the potential to be the updated version of “Swiftboating.” Not only do you have an asset that is ready made to “go viral” via embed codes, email a friend functions and a social-media happy public, but by and large these videos and Web sites are being passed around via word of mouth. Receiving a link to a site/video (for or against a candidate) from a trusted friend arguably has a much larger impact on one’s consideration than a 30 second television spot. For right now this trend is mostly in the hands of consumers, but I fear to think what will happen when the back room politicos get caught up to speed!

I’m betting that the Will.i.am Effect is going to be around for quuuuite awhile.