If you haven’t heard of long shot Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel, you will soon. Immediately following his participation in the first Democratic debate, Gravel’s popularity shot up tremendously, thanks in large part to exposure online. If debate performance can be measured by the number of supporters won over post-debate, then Mike Gravel won the debate hands down. As I write this, the number one story on reddit is “Meet the Next President of the United States of America”, which links to a video compilation of Gravel’s best(and most provocative) statements in the debate. The same story is #1 on Digg, climbing to the top in record time. You only need to look as far as the thousands of votes Gravel received on reddit and Digg to see that he is popular, at least online.
The interesting thing is that Mike Gravel was dismissed by the mainstream media as a nobody with no support, and denied participation in the next debate. Ironically, it is this very rejection by the mainstream media as not popular enough/too controversial/too outspoken that has made Gravel so popular online.
The traffic to the Gravel campaign website has skyrocketed immediately after the debate, and has only continued to grow since:
Blog mentions of “Mike Gravel” have also shown similarly impressive growth:
And the video of Gravel’s performance at the first debate has been viewed over 120,000 times in the past 2 days. And current frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s most viewed Democratic debate video? Less than 2000 views. Now you tell me who has how much support.
It is not the place of this blog to delve into politics(except the politics of the blogosphere of course). But I continue to be amazed at the amazing ability of nontraditional media like blogs and social news to subvert traditional, mainstream media. There is no doubt that what is and isn’t newsworthy can no longer be decided by news editors. Now, the wisdom of crowds reigns supreme. Social media, blogs, forums and comment threads now have as much, if not more power to generate publicity than an interview on CNN. In 2007 and beyond, the media can no longer afford to ignore what the masses deem important. Because if the media is seen as pushing a particular view,position,or candidate on the vast and untamed crowd of the Internet, the crowd fights back.
But the most interesting question that might come out of this whole thing remains: What happens when a fringe candidate who can afford to have controversial views suddenly becomes mainstream?
Other Thoughts:
Mike Gravel is the next Howard Dean, a new star, polls highly online, and much much more…
Lol. Yea. I was definitely amazed by Gravel’s performance on the debates. In fact, it was only after clicking on the Digg link that I realised that he was alive.
He definitely has a great message and I sincerely believe that he is the guy that America and the rest of the world needs so desperately right now.
Anyways: Great Post =)
(http://plubius.wordpress.com wants Gravel for President!)
[...] the debate, his internet profile went through the roof. There are a few ways of telling this - go here to see the graphs. By way of simple example, Hilary Clinton had ca. 2000 hits on her most viewed debate video - while [...]
Well, he’s a choice.
It’s a nice story. I watched the video after it was linked on reddit the other day. He seems like a nice guy too, with good values and principles. But I think mainstream media sidelined him for a god reason: the man can’t talk. He stumbles a fair bit and thoroughly ignores the questions.
Eh, I didn’t like him so much when he was in the 2000 campaign and his name was “Ralph Nader”. I think I’ll save my vote for a winner.
sixsheep:
You’re the worst sort of voter. The “I’ll save my vote for a winner” line represents borderline a criminal mentality. If ever there was a sign of what’s wrong with this country today, you’ve just about nailed it.
People, vote for a good candidate, not a winning candidate. There’s a difference, and anyone who can’t see it commits a more foul breach of moral standing than I can put to words.
[...] I take full credit for this: Gravel getting new life because of Internet [...]
In the past the media dictated who the eventual winner is, and will always have a big influence but it is good to see the internet is able to allow a candidate with some morals to have a second chance.
[...] den gehirnskandal in den usa geschrieben. bei weiteren recherchen ist mir ein artikel in dem blog neomeme aufgefallen, der sich genau mit dem video [...]
I really wish voting systems in Canada and the US got changed so they no longer forced two party systems.
The way voting always work nowadays is always either right wing or left wing, with the winner being the side that has less division of the voter base amongst multiple parties.
(at least that’s how it goes in Canada)
Of course Gravel looked good,he wasn’t even in the game before!
Dennis Kucinich is claiming the same things.
Take my word for it, Mike Gravel will need a lot more than the Internet to make a campaign of it for 2008.
I predict he will drop before fall and will again slide into the unknown.
RWD
I thought Gravel was hilarious. He did very well. I laughed when he said that the war should be made a felony.
[...] Mike Gravel 2008 Presidential Campaign Given New Life by the Internet If you haven’t heard of long shot Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel, you will soon. Immediately […] [...]
[...] I know nothing about Senator Gravel, but I do know that his candor and straight-forward approach is refreshing. In fact, I bet most of you will like it, too. And it’s going to do wonders for his campaign. [...]
I still have some doubt about him though. What he said about the war in Iraq during the debate just made my day. However, aside from the “funniness,” I don’t think he has what takes to be the next president.
God damn I love it when the internet plays dirty with world politics
I’m from Bangladesh, and at least superficially I don’t give a F* of who runs the Oval from 2008..but on the other hand,the ruler of the Oval kinda becomes the ruler of the world in a span of 2 yrs or so. So, its good to see an aged yet meticulous dude who ain’t afraid to speak the truth.
People should really stop asking themselves “who’s the most electable?”
Instead, they should be choosing the candidate that reflects their beliefs and their values the most and give them their full support.
[...] Senator Gravel: this blog article shows that Senator Mike Gravel (pronounced Gra-vale, rather than like the stuff used for road surfaces)is making noise, getting noticed. [...]
Gravel’s fame will be short-lived. The truth is that we live in a media-driven age and Hillary, Obama or Edwars will be the nominee. I’m a Republican and there are guys w/ great ideas (Chuck Hagel & others), but they will never get traction.
Gravel has just as much of a shot as Republican Duncan Hunter…none. It’s sad, but that’s the world we live in.
Don’t get your hopes up…
I think Gravel’s main purpose is to get out there confront the candidates, and make his views heard, not necessarily to win.
I was for Obama, now I am for Gravel. I don’t just hope he influences the race, I hope he wins.
I am THE average Democrat.
There it is.
If Sen. Gravel can maintain momentum through the next 12 months he can have a major impact on the Democratic platform and the final selection process at the Democratic Convention.
Gravel may not have enough muscle to win the nomination outright but he can draw enough delegate votes to prevent any of the top tier candidates from having a lock on the nomination before the Democratic Convention begins.
The wishes of the people rather than whomever has the most money will then determine who the nominee for president will be. This is the way it should be…
[...] their debate performance. This was picked up on by reddit and Digg, where Paul/Gravel submissions quickly soared to the top of the sites. Their newfound popularity was immediately reflected in online polls, [...]
[...] Posted May 21, 2007 Since it is, after all, politics season, in the interest of fair coverage, I turn now to the other darling of the Internet long shot presidential candidate, [...]
[...] it is, after all, politics season, in the interest of fair coverage, I turn now to the other darling of the Internet long shot presidential candidate, [...]
[...] it is, after all, politics season, in the interest of fair coverage, I turn now to the other darling of the Internet long shot presidential candidate, [...]
[...] it is, after all, politics season, in the interest of fair coverage, I turn now to the other darling of the Internet long shot presidential candidate, [...]
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Well this why they say,” never underestimate the internet”. You have given facts to prove this statement.
I think the boost is really impressive and the debate was the only ignition that was needed.
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