The 2011 Election Campaign of Parliamentary Candidates from the Świętokrzyski Region on the Social Network Site Facebook.com

Krzysztof Kowalik

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New information technologies, especially the Internet, have changed the way politicians and voters communicate. A distinct moment is during the election campaign. Candidates try to reach the broadest group of potential voters with their offer through every possible media channel. The Internet gives politicians many tools to communicate with these voters. As an interactive medium, it allows engaging in dialogue in real-time, which resembles a face to face meeting. One of the possibilities of politician-voter communication is through social network sites. The author of the article investigated how candidates from the the Świętokrzyski region, running in the 2011 elections to the Sejm and Senate communicated with voters through Facebook. Using a designated profile, he examined the possibility of contacting politicians. The quality of the messages created by candidates from certain political parties was also analyzed. The author monitored their form of communicating with Facebook friends during a short period before election day.

KEYWORDS

elections, campaign, Internet, social network sites, Facebook, Świętokrzyski region