As the 2012 election season commences top Republican contenders for the presidential candidacy announce the first step of their campaigns: a presidential exploratory committee. How you announce it may not mean all that much, but what's interesting is that this past week former Minnesota Governor, Tim Pawlenty, chose Facebook as the platform to announce his presidential exploratory committee. There was little doubt that Pawlenty would run for the Republican nomination and many consider him a top-contender. However, rather than holding a news conference to announce the formation of his presidential exploratory committee, like Newt Gingrich, another Republican contender for the nomination, Pawlenty chose to use social media to make the announcement. The video sets Pawlenty's words to "grow jobs" and "limit government spending" to inspirational music, saying that he offers the chance for America to have a "brighter future". Social media allows Pawlenty to directly reach out to his base immediately by posting the video on Facebook. The video also allows for greater control over the message that Pawlenty wants to convey. The exploratory presidential committee is just one of the first steps of a presidential run, but Pawlenty is choosing to capitalize on social media's ability to reach out to a lot of people in a direct and timely manner. President Obama's use of social media in 2008 dramatically changed how campaigns are run, and it will be interesting to see how candidates during 2012 continue to make use social media and rely on its pervasiveness within society.
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