CorpComms Magazine

This year's May General Election is being hailed as an Internet first. It's the first election where the electorate can tweet its concerns as well as voice them. And whilst YouTube and blogging were just babes in arms when Blair secured his third term in 2005, these media may now be about to shape the way people vote.

One in three voters claims that seeing their prospective MP online is now as significant as getting a leaflet through their letterbox in helping them decide who to vote for, according to a study commissioned by video communications company, Winkball.com.

But many admit a lack of knowledge about the candidates representing them. Almost half could not name their local MP, whilst three quarters confessed to not knowing who is standing in the next election. Those aged between 16 and 24, who are frequently dissuaded from voting because they feel they lack information about the candidates, are also the most likely to be influenced by seeing their candidates online.

On the basis of these results, Winkball.com is launching its Internet campaign 'Do you know who you are voting for?' which aims to broadcast online videos of all 3,000 prospective parliamentary candidates in the run-up to the election. Voters are also able to get involved by recording and posting comments and questions, to which their local candidates can then respond.

James Ohene-Djan, co-founder of WinkBall, is confident the campaign will make a difference: 'This is a first for the UK and a fantastic opportunity for voters to see what makes their local candidates tick. General elections are so often fought and won on national issues, but by publishing the views of almost every candidate standing online, this is a great way of making a national election local.'

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