Social media in US presidential elections 2012 : How different use of social media can influence behaviour and participation of the online audience

Abstract: Social media is playing a significant role in our everyday life. New tools are emerging everyday and offer the users exciting opportunities. Not just ordinary people use social media.It became very popular among companies, politicians and government. But using social media does not guarantee one instant success and benefits. The right appliance of social media technologies can do wonders. Barack Obama brilliantly illustrated that during his presidential campaign in 2008.In 2012 social media technology was yet again at the heart of the Obama’s campaign. His challenger, Mitt Romney, also engaged digital technology into his campaigning process. However, the attention and participation Romney generated online was more humble compared to Obama, who yet again mastered the technology. This thesis studies the differences in social media use between the two campaigns and aims to find out how different use of social media can influence behavior and participation of the online audience. The study addresses the theory of communicative action, new social movements theory and agenda setting.