Today for the WebProWorld newsletter we're going to be discussing everyone's favorite topic -- politics. YAY! Ok, so politics aren't something you see a lot when talking about search or social media. If you've been keeping an eye on certain places you've noticed the two entities merge together.

What I think really kick started the social media revolution for politics was the YouTube and online popularity of Ron Paul. On TV you more than likely didn't see Ron Paul during the Republican primary. Watch the primary debates and you'll see what I'm talking about. However, if you were keeping up with him on YouTube or his website -- the online popularity was unparalleled....

That was until another huge social media/search sensation came along; someone you might know -- Barack Obama. Just like Paul, he took the online world by storm and in doing (for other reasons as well ;) ) secured his spot as the President of the United States. Something that impressed me about Obama's campaign was in the area of politics and openness, and how it relates to social networking/media. Before he edited down his campaign site, he had this to say about Government 2.0,

"Making government data available online in universally accessible formats to allow citizens to make use of that data to comment, derive value, and take action in their own communities. Greater access to environmental data, for example, will help citizens learn about pollution in their communities, provide information about local conditions back to government and empower people to protect themselves."

The New York State Office for Technology has followed this course of action, as they have embraced social media. It might be a small step, but any step in making the government more transparent is in the right direction. Also, I did some searching for my own state, Kentucky. The state government has a Twitter account, but unfortunately doesn't have a presence on Facebook. How about your local/state governments, have they embraced social media/networking?

The ideas presented in the WebProWorld newsletter editor's note do not reflect the thoughts, and ideas of the WebProWorld community.

| JohnnyV |