Sitting in a dorm room crowded by furniture, my roommate and I watched the television. The anchors started referring to Obama’s win, but we had not seen the facts yet. The giant ice skating rink had not yet been colored blue, reflecting electoral votes being captured by the democratic candidate for hope. But then it happened: we saw the new electoral standings and a middle aged mixed race man had become the next president elect of The United States. We felt shocked by the suddenness of the moment; there had been no build up in the moments prior to the announcement, just, “he won”. Taking in runner up McCain’s speech we were privy to a respectful and engaging address by a man who had come so close to the White House; but alas, it was not to be. America had spoken, and she wanted Barack Obama as the 44th President. The most prominent factor contributing to Obama’s historic win was his ability to reach people through technology.

By taking advantage of modern technology and the connectivity it is capable of, Obama was able to get his message out to the masses. He sent this message by email and text message, alerting citizens daily of his every move and hope of the campaign (New York Times 9/18). This was especially helpful in capturing the vote of the mobile within the United States. These people are often left out because they cannot keep abreast of information as well as stationary individuals can because they are not privy to the social norms of a particular area (Wray 8). By taking advantage of cell phones and the internet, Obama used a common tool to spread his message to millions of people the world over, giving him an edge because these people were more familiar with him than they were with McCain. Obama was able to simplify his message while at the same time keeping it positive and clear, which made him an easy “product” to enjoy and endorse. Familiarity makes people more likely to choose a product, or, in this case, Obama for president (Ariely 45). Obama further connected with another group of voters, the youth, by getting to them through mediums they are most adept with.

Obama engaged youth voters by playing on their level, using tools that young people are often the most familiar with. He used the methods described above to connect with this group in particular, alerting them to his hopes and dreams, and asking for their support. Obama ran on a platform of change and optimism, in an attempt to separate himself from old Washington DC ideals. The division of a politician from politicians as a whole often appeals to people, many of whom distrust politics and the compromise that inevitably goes along with it (Wray 21, 41). This division was particularly enticing to youth, who are more apt to support candidates with new ideas for the country (Wattenburg 144). Voteres aged 18-29 made up 18% of the electorate, with 66% of those voting checking the box for Obama (New York Times Online 11/5). Obama took the time to address the youth, who are often ignored by politicians, with ideas, proposals and facts. They responded positively to the attention given to them and their desires (Eisner 56). Obama was able to induce the natural urge to become aroused by something that could be cared about, as shown in Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, arousal, as well as other strong emotions, are able to push us to do things we might not otherwise do (104). By visiting college campuses all over the country Obama showed young voters that he cared about them, while at the same time following up his support with a platform that included issues that youth most often care about, such as the environment, abortion and gay rights (Eisner 48). These issues are usually not addressed by major party candidates, who seem to prefer catering to older generations who have a proven voting record.

Obama’s strong support network, brought together by technology, allowed him to bring in a large amount of funds, helping his campaign both start and finish strong. The Democratic National Convention provided a strong base or Obama to work from. His campaign was promoted at this event by a rock concert like atmosphere for his acceptance speech and over-flowing football stadium. This speech was attended by a record number of people, representing a 57% increase in participation of the Democratic Party (C-SPAN 9/4). This demonstrates Mr. Obama’s strong appeal to many within his party, leading to a successful fundraising campaign. He was further able to take advantage of this though the strong network of volunteers brought together by his technology based promotions. At of the month of September alone, Obama had raised 150 million dollars for his campaign. His rejection of public funds was a landmark decision, wrought with controversy, which has since proved highly beneficial to his campaign. The Obama campaign raised a total of 600 million dollars; this is equal to roughly six times the amount that McCain received through public financing (New York Times 10/20). It allowed Obama to create both attack ads against his opponent, John McCain, as well as continue to positively promote himself (National Journal 9/9, 10/27). His half hour special just a week before the election was paid for on several news channels and broadcast over normal shows. But it was not only a strong advertising strategy that promoted the senator to president-elect, it was the entire package that he presented, promoted through strong use of technology and the connection that Americans have with it.

Many people would say that Obama won this election by enlisting the African American vote. This may seem a likely conclusion as he captured 95% of the black vote, more than any Democratic candidate has in past years. Obama was the first non-white candidate to be put on a major Party ticket; this has allowed him to break away from the pack on many counts, making him the preferred (and expected) choice of many minorities, including African Americans, Asians and Hispanics. But combined these groups make up only 22% of the voting populace, which is not enough compared to the 74% of white Americans, who, as a whole, voted for McCain (New York Times Online 11/5). Therefore something else must have given Obama the push he needed to become President-Elect, this “something else” is technology. “Like a lot of Web innovators, the Obama campaign did not invent anything completely new. Instead, by bolting together social networking applications under the banner of a movement, they created an unforeseen force to raise money, organize locally, fight smear campaigns and get out the vote that helped them topple the Clinton machine and then John McCain and the Republicans,” (New York Times 11/10). Obama used all of his resources and brought together technology, unused until now, to secure his incumbent presidency. The African American vote played a part in this movement, but was not the sole reason for his win.

Obama was able to secure the needed votes to win the Presidency through his innovative use of technology. This allowed him to use a common medium to connect with millions of people faster than ever before (New York Times 11/4). Obama’s understanding of the gadgets that drive so many people’s lives helped secure him the votes of an often overlooked cohort, as well as bring in more funds than ever before. Sitting in my bed on election night I could only begin to conceive of the events going on around me. Broadcast stations were beaming in people from other parts of the country while anchors were being fed live information that was immediately conveyed to the public. Technology, the thing that Obama harnessed to get the populace to vote for him, was being used to convey the results on that balmy Tuesday night. These methods will continue to be used by Obama to govern; lists of supporters will turn into list of constituents, all of whom can be contacted with the click of a mouse (New York Times 11/10). As Obama’s voice filled the room, and the vision of thousands of people filled the screen, I was taken by the peace of a moment that was brought to use through busy technology. The President-Elect says it best himself, “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is the only chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were,” (CNN 11/4).