Canada votes 2008: Campaigning in a Web 2.0 world

The election race is off and running in Canada and the candidates are contending with a series of new Internet publicity issues.  The mudslinging has found its way online in some very interesting, if not controversial, ways.

From pooping puffins, to doctored YouTube videos, the party leaders are being inundated with negativity all over the web.  Who will emerge the winner with the cyber-generation after all the mud has been flung is anybody’s guess.

At this point in the Internet age web PR skills have become more important than baby kissing photo ops or spectacularly written speeches delivered on TV.  The party leader best able to roll with the cyber-punches could gain an important advantage with web savvy voters.

This reality is not lost on party spin doctors, all of whom have set up clever websites designed to both entertain and inform voters.  But it isn’t just websites that are being used in this election to court votes; all the major parties have fully embraced Web 2.0 by using social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter as well.

Here is a list of some of the most compelling cyber-campaigning currently on the web for Election 2008.  Some of it is party sponsored, and some of it is citizen driven, but all of it is demonstrative of the powerful influence the web now has on the electoral process in Canada.

An anti-Harper vote swapping movement on Facebook
Anti-Harper Vote Swap Canada
or cut and paste this link after logging into Facebook
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25808609138

Wikipedia inspired Scandalpedia.ca; an anti-Conservative site set up by the Liberals
http://www.scandalpedia.ca/Scandals.html

Notaleader.ca; CNN style Conservative driven attack on Liberal leader Stéphane Dion
http://notaleader.ca/

All-Party cyber tweets at netpriminister.ca
http://www.netprimeminister.ca/

Official Leader Twitter Links
Stephen Harper (English) http://twitter.com/PMHarper
Stephen Harper (en Français) http://twitter.com/Premierministre
Stéphane Dion (English only) http://www.twitter.com/liberaltour
Jack Layton (English only) http://www.twitter.com/jacklayton

Official Facebook Groups
Jack Layton http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jack-Layton/6330284938
Stéphane Dion http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephane-Dion/7874631159
Stephen Harper http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Harper/9106562109
Green Party http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2538880044
Le Bloc Québécois http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2257664652

Official Party Sites
Liberals http://www.liberal.ca/
Conservatives http://www.conservative.ca
NDP http://www.ndp.ca/
Greens http://www.greenparty.ca/
Le Bloc Québécois (en Français seulement) http://www.presentpourlequebec.org/accueil.aspx