Advani Teaching Karate
There’s no doubt that our prehistoric politicians have taken some pages out of the Obama presidential campaign manual. And that’s not a bad thing.
Obama’s unprecedented grassroots campaigning raised record amounts of campaign dollars for his presidential bid, as well as solidified him as the more “in touch” and “technologically advanced” candidate. While his adversary was trying to figure out how to open an email, his supporters had started massive Twitter campaigns at all his rallies; had a massive following and presence on Facebook, as well as developed their own “Web 2.0″ site, fully functional with a blog, social networking features, and all the bells and whistles to go along with it.
Enter LK Advani. If people were concerned that John McCain was too old, this guy probably shook hands with Jesus. And while his politics may or may not sit well with you, his campaign team has taken internet marketing for Indian politicians to the next level. Dear reader, even the site on which you read this article may be serving LK Advani’s banner ads, showing a steadfast leader who does not compromise with terrorists. The word on the street is that Mr. Advani and his campaign managers have hired two IIM MBAs and one IIT tech whiz to manage his entire search engine marketing campaign internally. Impressive. Unfortunately, one can not expect the full fledged technology attack that Obama waged against John McCain here. Surfing to Advani’s “blog”, you’ll soon learn that the option to comment on his “posts” does not exist - something critical for all blogs, helping establish a deeper connection with readers.
As funny as some of this all may seem to us internet bourgeousie, it’s certainly a start. And the deeper takeaway from this is that at least LK Advani, one of the hard-hitters on the Indian political scene, believes that the internet using audience is one that is worth capturing. This is making both a statement about internet usage in India, as well as the politician’s perception of internet users in India. If we had to identify the one monumental change the internet made in all our lives, it was for shifting power from the few to the many. At least one politician in India sees this, and understands that reaching out to the many may at least help put him in power.
If this is a sign of things to come, many more will follow suit. Of course, much larger issues still exist, such as the choices we have when voting day comes around. Usually, between the rapist, the murderer, and the psychotic religious extremist, I have to scratch my head a bit before putting my rubber stamp of approval on any candidate.
The wheels, however slow, may actually be turning. What are your thoughts on LK Advani’s internet barrage, or Congress’s new age commercial on TV?
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