KIRKLAND, Wash. - She lost out to Republican Representative Dave Reichert twice, but former Democratic Congressional Candidate and Microsoft Executive Darcy Burner may have blazed a new trail as the possible first “Netroot” candidate in the nation.
Former Burner campaign manager Zach Silk called the 8th district 2006 candidate the first “Netroot” candidate at an event hosted Tuesday night by the Social Media Club Seattle. Silk said Burner, a virtual unknown, built her political base in the tech savvy 8th district by going to the Internet.
"Netroot" is a loosely based liberal online community of bloggers. In 2006, Silk says social media tool Twitter "wasn’t on the radar" then, but blogs were. According to Silk, the blogs were a way to sidestep the traditional media and allow a "non-established candidate" to “directly speak to their constituents."
Silk was among three panelist who spoke at the Woodmark Hotel at Carillon Point in Kirkland as part of an event titled "Social Media in the Political Realm." Joining Silk on stage was Scott Stanzel, who served as spokesperson for Former President George W. Bush, and Alison Byrne Fields, who worked on the Rock the Vote campaign.
The trio spoke about the need for political candidates and campaigns to embrace social media and for candidates to be "authentic."
Fields, who was the former Creative Director and Chief Strategist on the Rock the Vote campaign, said before social media, candidates would have to spend "loads of money" to reach the younger voters.
The flaw in that strategy was despite the expensive television ad campaigns, only a few young "people will show up" on election day. That all changed in the 2008 Presidential election. According to Byrnes, then presidential candidate Barack Obama embraced social media because the "cost per vote went down. Because it is now cost efficient to reach out to young people."
"It’s no longer a novelty," said Scott Stanzel who was once the Deputy Press Secretary to President George W. Bush. He calls social media "a necessity," but stressed candidates and politicians need to be authentic.
Stanzel was in the White House when the first dedicated blogger was seated in the daily press briefings. According to Stanzel, instead of policy questions, the president had to be ready to field a new type of inquery such as "Did the President watch American Idol last night?" Even with social media, Stanzel admits it’s sometimes hard to control the message and at times it’s like "riding a tiger."
All three panelist say voters should expect more social media campaign outreaches in the future. They also say mobile devices will be the next way candidates and campaigns reach out to grab voters attention. "It’s new and fresh," summarized Silk about social media, "It’s still the Wild Wild West."
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