New Generation of online and inteligent voters

Since 2007, I have been very vocal about a new trend when it comes to political issues. A trend that changes political situations in this country. I am talking about the new generation of intelligent onliners. Thanks to the fast advancement of technology, information nowadays is easy to gather and disseminate.





Gone are the days where information is controlled by a few minds and entities. The traditional practice of controlled information is the cause why there is imbalance of power. Those who control the government and media oftentimes get what they want at the end of the day. But such practice is now limited because of the online generation. A recent example is the Ampatuan massacre. Normally, the government will release items for the media to feast or media companies will publish the story they wish. But that is not the case. The massacre was made known faster worldwide and the government and media cannot control the release of information to the worldwide audience. Simply put, hundreds of thousands if not millions of Filipinos are involved online and information is passed on faster than a blink of an eye.

Today, politicians try their best to gather as much supporters by creating their own websites that showcase their achievements, awards, projects etc etc etc. But the funny thing is that most of the online generation do not spend precious time visiting the politician's website. Why? Because its just a website full of texts, pictures and words. It's like an existing website with no contents at all. Onliners would rather watch videos at Youtube, search Google or do Facebook. The reason behind the online snub is the lack of interaction on the part of the politician. Setting up a website is not enough. Example, I have yet to see a politicians' website where the politician is featured in a video explaining and showing to his constituents the projects and the budget for it for transparency. The first Filipino politician who will do this will be rewarded the utmost respect from the online community. He or She might even become the President of the Philippines.


Politicians running for the 2010 elections should consider "the new generation of online voters" because thoughts, encouragements, ideas and issues are being discussed freely in the internet unlike five years ago. Today, everybody can express his opinion and influence others in a larger scale. Traditional tactics and even traditional politicians will not survive the race for the chair they are after if they will not act quickly to introduce themselves and what they stand for to the new generation of online voters. The mere formation of a group, associations, fans clubs, and volunteers in social networking sites like Friendster, Facebook and Twitter is not enough. Actual online interaction is needed.

I remember last 2007 wherein some forums I am active with were talking about Chiz Escudero and Senator Trillanes. There were so many ads, paid persons and groups posting articles about their candidates,  etc but at the end of the day, the discussion about the two individuals mentioned above spilled over to the homes of the readers then later on to the community. They were voted by the people. Especially Trillanes. This will also show the political thinking of the Filipino people, they go for the underdog and despises the blatant use of money  to campaign.

The rally for the expulsion of President Estrada grew to a very large crowd not because of the paid protesters or the "hakot" system  but because people were talking through text and online. There was a free discussion of political sentiments. Those sentiments were brought home, shared to the community and spilled all over, thus the large rally against former president Estrada came through. It was not entirely the fault of Angelo Reyes turning against Estrada or the powerful Makati businessmen. The people's emotions, sentiments, feelings about dirty politics had something to do with the ouster and the meeting of the minds and free discussion online sparked a debate that was later on carried to the streets. Estrada, being a traditional politician did not see the relevance of "the new generation of online voters". 




This is a new generation, a new time, a new league of intelligent voters. The smallest contribution we could give to change the Philippine political system is one giant step towards fixing our future.

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And So I say
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Copyright DMC, Quezon City
Political Scientist
www.watwatworld.com