The Internet is carrying the campaign strategies of all three major political parties in the run-up to next month's Ontario election, albeit in different ways and to varying degrees. In Part 2 of our Ontario Politics 2.0 series, Toronto-based writer Lydia Perovic looks at the availability and diversity of Web 2.0 features in the context of e-communication and online campaigning.
The Tories have been well ahead of both the Ontario Liberal and New Democratic Party in terms of the variety of features on offer in their respective Web campaigns, until the Liberals finally put their own campaign Web site online.
The Progressive Conservative Web site in non-electoral times is a frequently updated hub of all things Tory. Currently it's both that and a springboard to the PC Party's campaign Web site - www.leadershipmatters.ca - with Web 2.0 galore.
Party leader John Tory has YouTube, Flickr and Facebook accounts (the latter is very rudimentary: see Jack Layton's Facebook profile on how to maintain a leader's account) and the campaign home page itself is in the form of a blog, written in a business-casual tone with video components (v-blogs) for almost every entry.
The "Find Your Riding" feature is simple and it works. A couple of policy teasers are placed on the home page and these change periodically. In the permanent one, Dalton McGuinty's "Broken Promises," examples change with every new click.
If you sign up, which requires providing your postal code, the Web site shifts into another, more personalized gear with the candidate from your riding permanently displayed in the "Featured Candidate" box on the home page, and more nudging to get involved by using other features of the Web site.
Your next visit to the home page will invite you to "Take the Next Step" - use the "Spread the Word" feature, for instance, which is a great way for the party to obtain e-mail addresses. Can features such as "Organize a House Party" and "Write a Letter to the Editor" be far behind?
If you sign up to receive e-communication from the Tory campaign, you will receive it. On August 18, I signed up to receive campaign e-mails from all three parties. As of today, I have received six e-mails from the PC campaign, none from the Liberals and none from the NDP. (A simple query sent to the general PC campaign info e-mail has yet to receive a response; but more on interactivity later).
I signed up for a number of candidates' campaign e-newsletters (this includes incumbents and challengers) and apart from the automated acknowledgement responses, I've received nothing.
Not very many sitting MPP's bother with regular e-newsletters at the best of times, and those who have are probably now trying to figure out whether they can use their constituency database for campaign e-mail communication.
Many of the he Liberal candidates' sites have no privacy policy displayed, whereas some Tories do and some do not. What might work in our favour is that candidates tend to guard e-mail databases and are reluctant to share the contacts even with the party brethren from their own riding.
One of the few candidates of any party who has had both an MPP Web site and a campaign Web site running, since August, as well as a regular newsletter, is Kathleen Wynne, MPP for Don Valley West, whose e-campaign has been quick on its feet.
Although the visitors sign up for an e-newsletter at the campaign site, the newsletter itself seems to be the usual constituency newsletter with gradually increasing campaign content. Her site's calendar combines both campaign events and community events, and clearly states which one is which.
Continued: Building community with blogs and social media
Related content:
Read Part 1: Politics 2.0: Web campaigning in the Ontario election
Read Part 3: Web campaigning for Elections Ontario: What's in it for me?
Political parties tap IT for election advantage
Gearing up for the Ontario election
Tory's Tories: The Ontario PC Party's Web sites
The Ontario Liberal Web site: Kodachrome or black and white?
Election? What election?: The Ontario NDP Web site
Would-be Toronto mayors reaching new voters with YouTube
Ryerson students leverage YouTube popularity
Toronto elections campaigning for transparent funding
Liberals (e-)challenged
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