It wasn’t long ago that Facebook was just a website for college kids to keep in touch with their friends.

Now the ubiquitous social networking site is almost a necessity for political campaigns.

Candidates can use Facebook as a virtual campaign trail to post photos videos, photos and messages to interact with voters.

Jonathan Dye was hired as a social media consultant to integrate Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr pages with the campaign website for Carol Porter, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

“Any website that isn’t integrated with social media isn’t a functioning website in my opinion,” Dye said.

He said social media are important to campaigns because they allow people to access information about candidates on websites they are already visiting.

“People do what they want to do on the Internet ... They’re going to come to Carol on their own terms, so she has to be wherever they are, as opposed to telling people, just come to my website, all the answers are there.”

Web 2.0 — as interactive social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are called — made a big statement in the 2008 elections.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 74 percent of Internet users, representing 55 percent of the entire adult population, went online in 2008 to get involved in the political process or to get news and information about the election.

Nearly 1 in 5 Internet users posted their thoughts, comments or questions about the campaign on a blog, social networking site or other online forum.

Dye said this year, most candidates have realized the impact of such sites and almost all running in Georgia have at least a Facebook page.

“It’s going to be a turning point as far as people viewing social media as important,” Dye said. “The mastery of it is going to come.”
Some candidates are pushing other technological boundaries, offering sophisticated options for cell phones.

Doug MacGinnitie, a Republican running for secretary of state, has an iPhone app that provides information about his campaign and helps supporters donate money. Friends approached him about making one for the campaign last year, and it has been downloaded roughly 200 times, he told the Associated Press.

Kathryn Ballou, the campaign manager for Republican insurance commissioner candidate Maria Sheffield, said she has watched campaign technology change dramatically since she worked for her first campaign in 1992.

“It’s come a long way from when we would have to collect phone books,” Ballou said.

Sheffield has been able to successfully use social media to gain attention for her campaign without expending a lot of funds.

“She gets comments around the state about how many people are following her (online),” Ballou said. “It’s been a great tool, especially for a down-ticket race.”

David Schaeffer, a candidate for the state Court of Appeals, quickly discovered the new media’s impact.

“I had never touched a Facebook page before the campaign,” Schaeffer said. “My wife, daughter and son said ‘you need to be on Facebook.’ We had 150 fans within a week. People are looking it up.”

However, the Internet does not replace good, old-fashioned campaigning.

“The two of them work so hand-in-hand now,” Ballou said. “Maria’s traveling all over the state.”

Social networking sites originally started as a channel for personal information, and for Sheffield, Facebook and Twitter updates are not all business.

Ballou said Sheffield will post updates about things like the restaurants she goes to in different towns while on the campaign trail.

“She always includes something fun and she gets the most response to those that are nonpolitical,” Ballou said. “People really like to hear that personal stuff. They’re just average Georgians like everyone else.”

Dye said social media are the most economical way to spread information about a candidate.

“The cost, as far as getting your message out is a whole lot lower,” Dye said. “It takes a lot of sweat equity. It takes more time and you have to devote some resources to it to be able to really pull it off but I definitely think it’s a cost-saver for campaigns.”

Just like any other aspect of a campaign, candidates have to be sincere and put in the time to upload new status updates and “tweets.”

“A quarter of it at least is making sure you keep people updated in real time,” Ballou said. “We’ve found if we keep it updated and new and fresh, people will continue to follow it. You have to stay on top of it.”