Ad Watch- John McCain – Facebook Profile

Senator John McCain’s Facebook profile is a non-traditional yet strategic approach for reaching young voters, especially when 70 percent of Facebook users are either in high school or college. Facebook membership is required to view McCain’s profile, however membership is free to anyone with an e-mail address. Once a registered user, McCain’s profile can be viewed at anytime. Similar to all Facebook profiles, McCain’s was created free of cost. However, any campaign content uploaded to the page, such as TV ads, were financed by McCain’s campaign. All Facebook profiles, including McCain’s, contain the same basic sections including general information, profile picture, friends (or supporters if the user is a political candidate), a “wall” where friends can post comments, an event calendar for creating and promoting events, groups for sharing interests, and photo albums. New to Facebook are “applications,” which users chose to add to their profile. An example of an application added by McCain is the “video” application, which allows him to upload videos of his speeches, for example, to his profile.

Interesting is McCain’s choice of profile picture. He is dressed in a black pinstriped business suit, a light blue collared shirt and an orange tie. Traditionally, candidates dress predominately in red, white, and blue, or wear a symbolic American flag pin on their breast pocket. Perhaps the Facebook audience was considered when choosing this picture in hopes of appearing open to change. The picture caption explains that McCain is running for the office of President for the United States under the Republican Party. This is interesting because party affiliation is not mentioned in many of McCain’s TV ads. By clicking on provided links, viewers of McCain’s profile can choose to “become a (McCain) supporter,” “view (profile) updates”, or “share (McCain’s) profile with friends”. When a user becomes a McCain supporter, a box is added to their profile with a picture of McCain, publicizing their support to others.

McCain’s profile includes personal information, such as religious views and favorite TV shows, that would not necessarily be promoted in traditional campaign ads. However when gaining the trust of others online, transparency is valued as the risk of deception is common on networking sites. McCain included his work experience such as his time in Congress from 1982 to 1986, “representing what was then the first congressional district of Arizona.” Also included are links to McCain’s other Web sites, such as his MySpace page. It is interesting that of the information provided, McCain excluded any mention of his wife or his marital status on his profile. “Relationship status” is an important feature for many Facebook users and many might wonder why he completely excluded any mention of his wife, especially with the high visibility a first lady (or “first spouse”) would have if elected.

            The “discussion board” and “wall” on McCain’s profile provide users an outlet to discuss the candidate. Discussions are segmented by topics such as, “the health care debate.” Anyone can participate in discussion board conversations. Conversely, only McCain “supporters” can post comments on the wall, as wall posts appear directly on McCain’s profile, and are not segmented by topics.

            To date, McCain has posted 100 items on his profile including his Internet advertisements, links to relevant news articles, and behind the scene videos from across the United States. McCain also included notes such as thank you letters to his supporters, articles from hard news sources, and his rebuttals in response to claims by his competition.

Several applications were added to McCain’s profile including the “video,” “fan video,” and “The Official CBSsports.com Tournament Bracket” applications.  McCain uploaded 10 videos to the video application including his Joe Lieberman’s announcement of his McCain endorsement. The “fan videos” application allows McCain supporters to upload homemade videos. In one example, a supporter adapted a TV ad for Senator Hillary Clinton entitled “3 a.m.,” by replacing photos of Clinton with photos of McCain. The supporter said, “I made this video because when I first heard the ad from Clinton, I immediately thought to myself, ‘I want Senator John McCain to answer that phone at 3a.m.!’” This is one interesting example of how McCain’s use of Facebook has allowed voters to contribute content and express their creativity while supporting his campaign.

In an attempt to understand how McCain feels about the use of Facebook for his campaigning efforts, I spoke with spokesperson, Krystal Benton. “The use of Facebook has been incredibly successful for reaching young people across all demographics,” said Benton. “What is attractive about Facebook is that we know voters viewing his page are actually seeking out the information and have the opportunity to view material they may not otherwise have been able to view if the material was not released in their area.”

Sisela Bok’s justification model was used to determine whether McCain’s Facebook profile is ethical. Bok first suggests to “consult your own conscience” in deciding if something is ethical. I evaluated McCain’s profile and believe it is an honest representation of his candidacy. He reveals both general and personal information about himself, and allows others to discuss him openly on his profile. I then evaluated Facebook as a campaigning outlet. I would argue that because Facebook allows users to interact with the candidate, add user-generated content such as comments and videos to his profile, and view profile material in their own time and at their own discretion, it is both ethical and revolutionary when compared other traditional initiatives. I believe that in regards to Kant’s categorical imperative, our society would benefit if all campaigning efforts allowed for such an interactive citizen experience. Mentions of other candidates on the profile were either in the TV ads on the profile, or in discussions between Facebook users. Nothing malicious or negative in regards to other candidates is visually present on McCain’s profile landing page.

Bok’s second step suggests to “seek alternatives” by consulting with experts. Heavy and frequent Facebook users would be considered experts on the representation of self through online profiles. I spoke with Mr. Charlie McKeague, a self-proclaimed Facebook addict, and fellow University of Missouri journalism student. Mr. McKeague agreed that McCain’s profile overall was ethical. However, he did comment on the fact that only by becoming a McCain “supporter,” could a person write on his profile “wall,” which could be bias. However, the same is true for all Facebook profiles. Only a person’s friends can write on their wall and therefore although undesirable, this factor is not considered unethical, as it is a universal Facebook standard. Bok’s last step suggests consulting the public or “persons of all allegiances,” in determining the ethicality of the profile. The simple fact that the “ad” in question is a Facebook profile, which by definition is open for all publics to view and contribute content free of charge, leads one to believe the profile is ethical. If not, it would be hard for the profile to pass the test of publicity in such an open forum. However, I consulted with both a democratic voter, Ms. Kate Krueger, and a republican voter, Mr. Ian McFarland, to determine whether they felt McCain’s profile was ethical, which they both agreed it was. Ms. Krueger felt that because any candidate could create a Facebook profile, the process was fair. Mr. McFarland felt that by creating a profile, the candidate is at risk of losing the respect of traditional voters unfamiliar with the Facebook process. However as a voter familiar with McCain’s campaign, McFarland said McCain’s profile held true to how he represented himself in other media outlets and that campaigning on Facebook was necessary to encourage young people to vote and win their approval.

After both evaluating McCain’s Facebook profile and running the profile through an ethical justification model, I feel confident the profile is ethical. McCain’s Facebook profile is an honest representation the candidate and his political platform in real life. Facebook enables candidates to interact with the citizens they are campaigning to represent and encourages those citizens to contribute their support and/or concerns in interactive setting never before possible with traditional media.

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/johnmccain?ref=s

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