Seems this Joe the Plumber guy has more attention than he ever wanted.
Welcome to the political blogosphere in 2008. There are times like this, in the heat of a campaign, where the online world pushes the mainstream media into a frenzy. Eight years ago a story like this probably wouldn't have happened.
Ask a few questions to a political candidate and within hours you're trumpeted as the conquering hero of the right - the "Joe Sixpack" the McCain campaign has been yearning to personify - and in a few more hours you're vilified by the left and made the object of any number of attacks - some true, some not.
Absolutely NONE of this would have happened in the pre-social media age. The McCain campaign learned about this guy by reading Drudge. The mainstream media learned the facts that erode his credibility from the blogs on the left.
They say politics ain't beanbag - but before the blogosphere got as big as it has, that just applied to candidates. Now it applies to voters. It will definitely apply to companies. In the future the pace will be even faster, the tone will be even harsher, and the stakes will be even higher.
1 comment:
David,
As usual, you hit the nail on the head. None of this would have happened even four years ago.
Great post.
Mark
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