Peer to peer to power

Can social networking technologies change single-issue and national politics?NOW THAT the British General Election campaign is underway, voters may be expecting a deluge of email spam and browser popups. After all, isn't this supposed to be the election in which the Internet really makes a difference? Hasn't the 2008 American Presidential race whetted candidates' appetites for online opportunities?The voters' fears reflect the traditional political dialogue. | Candidates usually address S voters directly and from a 85 distance. Theestablished tools £ include rationed TV and radio broadcasts, direct mail, print advertising and a lot of spin.Even the best-known Internet techniques fit this model: official websites, email lists and dedicated YouTube channels. But if anything can be taken from the American experience, it's that online campaigning is not just about digital pamphleteering. The 2010 campaigns will use more indirect methods, spun out from social networks.