DESPITE the alleged security breach and unconsented data privacy collection from hackers disguised as data firms for whatever strategic use, Facebook remained king among Filipinos, especially the main social media arm in this current barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
This is a testament that most Filipinos still look at this social media platform as a means to expand their campaign materials, and probably learning from the previous elections that it has become an effective tool for reaching wider audience and potential voters. After all, Facebook, is still the number one social media platform among Filipinos with 67 million having accounts, according to a new report by London-based consultancy We Are Social, in its Digital Report 2018.
It is also interesting to note how some barangay and SK candidates utilized the platform more than just sharing the soft-copy version of their campaign posters (which have been flooding the newsfeeds lately), but also by making “video logs” or “vlogs,” either pre-recorded or live.
However, unlike the 2016 presidential elections, the campaign methods are more “organic.” This means that actual people, even the candidates themselves, are mostly involved without hiring massive army of online trolls to do the job. Although, some have had a small-scale version of it, and while some barangays have stiff competitions among their candidates, it is less likely being too controversial, except some posters getting “viral” attention because of its funny nature.
I have always been saying even from before that social media has become a major part in the Filipino modern customs one way or another, and especially an important conduit of political machinery: be it from the grassroots to the grandest national scale. We have seen what it has become and what it can do to instill the behavior of Filipinos, and over time it has grown more sophisticated and systematic.
Of course, there will be implications in the long run. As early as now, we are witnessing a transition of “power play,” especially in the foundations of mass media and its influence to the general public. Sooner, even giant traditional media entities may have to migrate in social media (although it is happening already now), and gain its prominence and influence back through the online realm of the internet, otherwise, they will have to face extinction of relevance.
This also means that the role of these beings called “influencers” will become expanded and will be given more dominance, and it mattered not whether these influencers have genuine talents or skills for the trade, as long as they hold large amount of followers online. And the struggle for “relevance” is becoming more competitive than ever before.
In 2012, at the eve campaign preparations for 2013 for the national and local elections, a confident political “strategist” scoffed at the idea of expanding its campaign methods to social media, saying that most voters in their area don’t have internet access because it is in Bukidnon. He may be right. Luckily his candidate won, but if he said that in 2015, he could be naïve and uninformed to say that. With telecommunication companies giving cellular phone users a “free data” service, access to social media usage eventually increased over time.
This is the landscape now. Even traditionalists have to yield the new political machinery. Social media – Facebook. Easier to handle, and most of all – cheaper.
(nefluczon@gmail.com)