Some Tech Students Prefer Conventional Campaign Methods
Networking Web sites have become popular platforms for candidates in 2008. At Texas Tech, not all students are using these sites to learn about candidates.
Alan Brown, a junior journalism major from Waco, said he still gets information about candidates from traditional sources, such as newspapers or online news organizations. He added that information on networking sites could be biased or tainted.
“There’s a lot of power in these sites, but how much of the information is fixed,” Brown said. “ I mean with comment boards people can say anything. I wonder if that influences potential voters?”
Tom Johnson, a mass communications professor at Texas Tech, agreed that there seems to be little effort on the part of candidates to control comments on these Web sites. He said anything that helps organize and educate young voters is helpful, but added there are negative aspects.
“I think a negative thing for the candidates is sometimes they lose a little bit of control," he said. "Communication is no longer one way.”
Rachel Stone, a junior journalism major from Amarillo, said networking sites could be useful for rallying voters, but added the information may be too much.
“On the other hand it could really swamp people with information. They may get too much info and just stop caring,” she said. “Extremely uneducated youth could still learn from things like MySpace though.”
Stone said she still gets her news from traditional sources citing her love o
f journalism and fact checking.
“I don’t need a fancy website to tell me who to vote for,” she said. “I don’t need MySpace or YouTube or anything. All I need is traditional hard news and analysis of the candidates."
Johnson said despite the benefits of social networking sites, young voters may miss out on important information.
“I fear that the youth may not be getting the analysis that other media has to offer,” he said.