About a decade ago, the hottest thing in political campaign was the Internet (Garecht, 2011). Political consultants and candidates touted the promise of the Web to change the mode of their campaign strategies. From fundraising to propagandizing, web-based campaigning overwhelmed the medium with political messages. Yet, with the sudden hype of Web 2.0 over the past few years, social media became the new hot medium for political campaigning. As the election season approaches, we are seeing an increasing amount of political messages streaming into social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Due to this trend, political parties are spending millions of dollars hiring social media experts to manage and monitor their appearances and respective messages on SNS. Nonetheless, how effective are SNS acting as a new medium for the transmission of these propaganda messages? Do SNS audience receive firsthand information from their political leaders, or through a group of active gatekeepers who screen information and only pass on items that would help others share their views on these sites (Baran & Davis, 2009)? According to an analysis of voters’ decision-making process during a 1940 presidential election campaign, Paul Lazersfeld and his team of researchers revealed evidence suggesting that the flow of mass communication is less direct than we supposed. Known as opinion leaders, this group of active gatekeepers maintains an important role in consuming and filtering propaganda messages on SNS. Drawing from the two-step flow theory of communication process, this study aims to identify opinion leaders within the realm of SNS, their influence toward the electoral progress, and determines if SNS are an effective medium for the generation, replication, and dissemination of political messages.

1. BATTLE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA
THE WOOT, THE UGH, AND THE YIKES!
TWO-STEP FLOW THEORY OF COMMUNICATION AND
PERSONAL INFLUENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA
@JasonCKTham

3. WHY THIS STUDY?
Sudden hype of Web 2.0 makes social
media a new hot medium for political
campaigning

4. WHY THIS STUDY?
Social media experts are managing
and monitoring politic messages

5. INITIAL QUESTIONS
How effective are social media acting as the new channels for
propaganda messages

6. INITIAL QUESTIONS
Information: Firsthand or Screened
Who are the Gatekeepers

7. THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
• Analysis of voter’s decision-
making process
• Less direct flow of mass
communication
• Two-step flow theory of
communication process
• Personal influence from
thought leaders

8. SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A FAD
Facebook reached its 1 billionth user
Changing social behaviors: Sharing, expressing opinions
New paradigm for human communication

9. THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE
Interpersonal Communication
One-to-many Communication
Mass Communication

11. Shaped by the
capacity of
communication
globalization and
interpersonal
media, by the
emergence of
networked
mediation.
SELF-MASS - Cardoso, 2008 -
COMMUNICATION

12. ENHANCED
USER
EXPERIENCE
through
convergence
culture

13. AUDIENCE AS
CONTENT PRODUCERS

14. GLOBAL VILLAGE
One great social, political, and cultural system
- McLuhan -

15. BOUNDARIES
UNDEFINED
Time
Space
Private vs. Public
Control vs. Freedom
Virtual vs. Reality

16. THE HUBS: Information progresses from a
large-degree node A (opinion leader) to
another node B (opinion follower); C
(friend of opinion follower) pull information
from both the opinion leader and their
friends.
The volume of
@replies traveling
into and out of
Japan and
worldwide retweets
in one-hour period
just before and
after the Tohoku
earthquake on
March 11, 2011

17. VIRALITY: THE NEW FAME
Social media is the ongoing
conversation of the planet.
Election 2012 was a battle of
the social media; all the
candidates needed was to
be the conversation.

18. SOCIAL MEDIA: NEW REALM FOR PUBLICITY
THE GOOD…

19. SOCIAL MEDIA: NEW REALM FOR PUBLICITY
THE BAD…

20. SOCIAL MEDIA: NEW REALM FOR PUBLICITY
AND THE UGLY…

21. SOCIAL MEDIA: NEW REALM FOR PUBLICITY
AND THE UGLY…

23. MASS-MEDIATED PROPAGANDA
Study the means of influence on the attitude of a community
Desired result: change of attitude toward the subject in the
target audience to further political agenda

25. LIMITATIONS Ignores personal, social,
Underestimates the and cultural factors in
individual’s abilities to changing
evaluate messages. attitudes/behaviors.

27. LIMITED EFFECTS THEORY OF MASS MEDIA
Paul Lazersfeld, 1940s
Voter’s study – Two-step flow
model of communication
Decatur Study – Personal influence

28. OPINION LEADERS &
OPINION FOLLOWERS
Tastemakers
Handpicked and screened
media messages.
Make a personal stance.
And share them with their
followers, subscribers, friends, etc.
Kevin Allocca
YouTube Trend Manager

29. OPINION LEADERS &
OPINION FOLLOWERS
Communities of
Participation
Becoming a part of the extreme
phenomena.
Parasocial relationship.
Your story, my story.
Kevin Allocca
YouTube Trend Manager

30. WHO ARE THESE
OPINION LEADERS
IN SOCIAL MEDIA?
Thought leaders, highly celebrated experts, idolized
individuals
Journalists, news anchors, radio broadcasters,
politicians, educators, celebrities, corporate leaders

33. FUTURE
EXPLORATIONS
How do opinion leaders
generate and disseminate
messages on social
media?
How do social media users
perceive social networking
sites as a channel for
propaganda?
Social media vs. traditional
news media

34. RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
Statistical survey to be
monitored
Random sampling of
750 samples
Age 16-55

35. THANK YOU.
@JasonCKTham