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With the Democratic Primary race still neck-and-neck, it’s time to look closer at the candidates. What really differentiates them? Is it policy, rhetoric, experience? How about their Flickr pages?
Blogger Drew Anderson has found a clear difference by analyzing Clinton’s and Obama’s Flickr pages. Both candidates have “Pro” accounts ($25/year), but Clinton’s staff has left her profile blank: she has no contacts and no testimonials. To make things worse, Clinton’s photos are tagged “All rights reserved” so they can’t be reused. But Obama? His profile overflows with contacts, testimonials, and interests. His photos are nicely organized into collections (mainly depicting his volunteers), and are free for users to share and reuse (for noncommercial purposes, anyway). While these pages are clearly set up by campaign staffers, the comparison demonstrates a difference in the two campaigns’ approach to Web 2.0 site use.
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Click on the pages above to see the candidates’ pages in detail. Here’s a bit more from Anderson’s blog post:
Barack Obama has 13,936 photos in his Flickr account
Hillary Clinton has 3,081 photos in her Flickr accountNet profiling is very interesting when it comes to social sites. You can certainly tell a lot about people. I realize that Barack and Hillary probably don’t personally handle their social networking sites but, these social networking sites are a direct representation of the candidates.
One of the key parts to a social network is the social part, it’s not just “hey look at my photos”, it’s about letting people put their voice in and share it with others. Obama gets it, Clinton doesn’t.
Read the rest of the article and get ready for a debate in the comments!
Go Obama!!!!
Love that he lists, “Loafing with the kids” as a favorite activity.
Mr. Anderson said, “Obama gets it, Clinton doesn’t.” That’s exactly it!!
I was all for Hillary until Obama came along. Whatever ‘it’ is, he has it. I so hope he gets the nom.
posted by mrs.djs on 2-21-2008 at 1:50 pm
I’ve been in a quandry over the 2 of them for awhile now… but the flickr thing is interesting. Hillary (and her staffers) are out of touch with a slice of America- the online slice- which is rather large.
I also noticed this about halfway down Obama’s page: I’m Male and Taken. (In case we were wondering! I love it!)
One thing- Obama, as a candidate, is attractive for sure- he has good rhetoric. I just hope he has more…
posted by ann on 2-21-2008 at 2:30 pm
It’s not surprising that so many young voters identify with Obama. He obviously has some very sharp people working for his campaign. I hope he’s all he seems to be.
posted by Lisa on 2-21-2008 at 2:50 pm
This is all very insightful and interesting, but Ron Paul manipulated web 2.0 even more, and we all know where that got him. The “internet slice” will only be worth it if Obama can match Billary in traditional backroom politics. The general voters don’t matter nearly as much as party fatcats.
posted by bean on 2-21-2008 at 3:30 pm
I keep hearing comments from people who are hoping Obama is more than his rhetoric. That connotes a lack of confidence in his ability to handle the presidency. What if he really is just a media event? Hillary is a proven - competent, experienced, tested in the fires of scandal and knowledgeable in political maneuvering. You may say this last (even if it includes backroom work with fatcats) is unimportant, but look at all that was accomplished by Lyndon Johnson - the Great Society and War on Poverty - because of his inroads and the lack of success - alternative energy - of Jimmy Carter because of his political naivety.
All I’m saying is… look at the candidates’ proposals for accomplishing their goals. Look at their records, not hypothetical votes. Make an informed decision. Don’t get caught up in the hype of either candidate. Don’t say, “Wow, that’s a great Flickr page. He’s my man.”
Oh well… that’s my spiel. Guess I needed to vent.
posted by jdl on 2-21-2008 at 6:10 pm
Obama has had my vote from the beginning, but I will say that he does have a good taste in music judging from his flickr page. Plus, the listing of male and taken is just too funny. I like that about his personality.
Read the Audacity of Hope for a better insight on his political/moral views. It is very good!
posted by Heather A on 2-21-2008 at 6:19 pm
Ron Paul kicks both their butts, though.
So what does it mean? Nothing.
posted by Moon on 2-21-2008 at 7:14 pm
I put together some info on how the different candidates were using Flickr last September, which I put in the “website” field of this comment form.
posted by J.D. Harper on 2-21-2008 at 7:27 pm
Shallow and callow comments abound here. Obviously, young Dems are choosing surface over substance. I wish just once that I’d hear a reasoned intelligent comment on why Obama is the choice. This ain’t American Idol, Kids! His oratorical style creeps me out as it sounds like a preacher on Sunday and I shun the claptrap of organized religion and the lemmings it caters to.
posted by Alice on 2-22-2008 at 10:07 am
Dear Alice
I’m thinking that if you really wanted reasoned, intelligent comments on Obama, you could think of a better site to find them. You don’t have to go patronizing people here to get your point across.
I think this post was meant to be light hearted. And kind of funny. Which it is.
I’m sure if you looked and listened hard enough, you’d find and hear many young Dems tell you why they’re choosing Obama.
People love to ‘dumb down’ young Dems. I believe our fine President would say, “misunderestimate.” That is exactly what I think is Camp Hillary’s biggest mistake.
Uh oh..I think there’s an epidemic of ultra-seriousness going around the _floss. ;D
posted by mrs.djs on 2-22-2008 at 11:31 am
wat this means is that Obama is more in toch with young voters, which was a given. He has an enormous lead in support in that demographic. I have always been a supporter of Hillary and continue to be. I just don’t think that Obama is ready to be President. Two years in the Senate?? Really, this is his experience? He talks a good talk but I don’t like or trust him. Like her or hate her, Hillary at least has a position. I’d rather take the “Devil I know over the Devil I don’t”. Not that either of them are Devils, but that captures the spirit of the thing.
posted by Matt on 2-22-2008 at 12:35 pm
RE: Experience
Obama spent 8 years in the Illinois State senate.
Hillary was a U.S. First Lady for 8 years.
As far as the U.S. Senate goes, she has one term on him. Big deal. She’s older.
Clinton spent a large portion of her law career with a law firm that represented huge companies while Obama spent time doing community oriented law services.
Don’t get me started on ethics; I can hardly believe she had the, ahem, nerve to point fingers about plagiarism.
I like his ideas on foreign policy. I like his ideas on campaign reform. Not to mention his thoughts on the war in Iraq. His voting record speaks volumes.
I don’t think Hillary is indeed The Devil; but I do think that a LOT of people do. That’s one thing that worries me.
Aaah! I can’t keep away! I’m feeling so….serious!!!!! :D
posted by mrs.djs on 2-22-2008 at 2:12 pm
Same deal on Twitter. Obama has 13 times the number of followers as Clinton.
More importantly, though, is that Hillary is following no one, while Barack is following almost 6800 fellow Twitter-ers. Whether he is actually listening is another matter, but the message is clear.
posted by Nicholas Tolson on 2-23-2008 at 11:32 am
One thing I would like to point out. The Clintons seem to be getting bad publicity. But think of it this way being a former NY resident I know what Black Harlem was like. And many presidents and candidates in the past neglected its existance let alone would think about having an office there and associating themselves with the area. Only the Clintons did. Think about it would Barack have opened an office like Bill did. They truely show a love for the black/african american community. Its not always about the color of your skin it more about how far would you go for people who are not the same color of skin. The Clintons have always proved they have been a friend of our community. They don’t have to use a beautiful speech or high profile people to state their case. We know they have hearts that reach out to all races and back it up with their actions.
posted by Mark Vel on 2-28-2008 at 10:17 am