Sarah Palin's announcement last week to resign as Governor of Alaska caught the political world by surprise. For the past week, politicos and pundits have tried to make sense of the decision but what some are missing is what I believe to be one of the most significant things to come out of this whole soap opera - Palin has used social media to circumvent the mainstream media and communicate directly with her supporters.
Immediately following the announcement, mainstream news organizations were scrambling to find the first hints of reason behind Governor Palin's decision. And before they could get to the source or anyone close to the Governor, Palin communicated directly to her most loyal supporters - via Facebook. Not an interview on the network nightly news, not a radio interview with Rush Limbaugh, but a Facebook note.
The Washington Post, evidently desperate for anything from the Governor, actually published Palin's Facebook note in it's entirey.Palin's use of Facebook and Twitter throughout the weekend was a fascinating look into the future of political communications. With her blatant disdain for the mainstream media, Palin was able to shun the press and go directly to the people whom she wanted to hear her message most - her supporters. Maybe even more fascinating though was the fact that the mainstream press were forced to cover Palin's controled online message because they had nothing else to go on!
While it would be foolish to think that the rule of Palin can be applied to any candidate, her use of social media to communicate directly with the people should serve as either an encouragement or a wake-up call for all political campaigns. What happens when you don't have the money to go up on TV, send out another mailer or you simply don't want the mainstream media filtering your message anymore? You communicate directly, as Sarah Palin did, through the online mediums you build up in the months and years leading up to the moment you need them most.
