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Alegeri.tv
Area of expertise: Web Applications & Services
Domain: Politics
Overview
In October 2007, Zitec launched Alegeri.tv, the first online television with an electoral theme.Alegeri.tv became a solution to the growing need for communication between politicians and voters within a virtual space where political parties can present their strategies, while voters can make informed political decisions. During this time, the site proved to be a private initiative of real public use, representing, in an impartial and objective manner, the image of all parties or candidates.
Context
The idea of an online communication platform connecting the political leaders and the voters was inspired by the non-existence of a site to present, in an objective manner, the political parties and the electoral campaigns in Romania. According to the BEC (Central Electoral Bureau), ITU and Trafic.ro statistics, over 5 million Romanian Internet users had voting rights in 2007. Therefore, the creation of an informational channel in this area was not only justified, but it had become a necessity.Thus, according to BEC, there were 18,301,309 voters in Romania, in 2007; 7 million Internet users, according to the ITU statistics in September 2007, and, according to the demographic statistics on Trafic.ro in January and February 2007, 78.8 % of the users are over 18 years old.
As such, there were approximately 5,516,000
online users with voting rights in 2007, representing over 30 % of the voting
population, a percentage which should make the campaign coordinators think
twice before ignoring the online communication channel. According to the data
on Trafic.ro, during the election campaigns there are high traffic visits
to online destinations relating to the elections subject, with figures varying
from 35,806 unique visitors per day for mediafax.ro to 85,090 unique visitors
per day for realitatea.net.
In conclusion, the internet is a means of communication that is quickly growing in Romania. The internet allows for the distribution of a message across numerous social categories: young people, university graduates and, especially, political analysts, journalists, politicians, and opinion makers as a whole. Yet the internet is almost ignored by political parties.
In order to implement Alegeri.tv, the Zitec team relied on the experience gained within the past five years of developing web applications. One of the most relevant references was the site, Election.tv, a site which closely follows the U.S. political scene.
The Zitec team invests a continuous effort into obtaining information, both for the lists of candidates and for information about them, a process that is often difficult and time consuming.
The video materials, news, events and other information on the site are directly received from the party or candidate staff, from the media partners of Alegeri.tv or from the online media (i.e. YouTube.com). Through the RSS flows, Alegeri.tv automatically receives news from trusted online sources, offering an aggregate supply of information on electoral themes (both from the central media and from well-known political blogs).
A problem that Zitec faced at the moment of the site's initial launch was the difficulty in getting the candidates to appear on the Internet, given the lack of awareness of the need for an online presence from the political parties' staff. For example in the case of the elections for the European Parliament in 2007, despite the participation of 14 parties, only one of these had a consistent online presence, both with video clips and with the presentations of its candidates.
However, during the local elections, the situation has improved. Many more politicians seem to understand that the Internet can provide a better transparency of the electoral program and a potentially higher audience. These politicians are now more invested in their image on the Internet, and have fulfilled requests to create profiles on the Alegeri.tv website by sending in video clips or managing their own campaign accounts.
At the 2008 local elections, a higher number of campaign managers were involved. Some of these campaign managers even managed the parties' accounts for candidates countrywide. Even if it is not an impressive figure, we expect that during the next elections more politicians will understand the necessity of their presence on this type of site, especially given the fact that the Alegeri.tv services are free.
Alegeri.tv retains all information gathered in an archive for future review and, at the end of an electoral campaign, it presents the results of the voting round. Free services for politicians and parties are supported and encouraged by the Zitec team in order to allow for equal chances of promotion for independent candidates or political parties with small budgets.
The goal of the Alegeri.tv project is to impartially present the electoral offer to voters, without influencing their decision. The Internet and especially the services of sites such as Alegeri.tv should become more attractive to politicians, given the fact that CNA plans to allow the televisions to charge for air space aimed at politicians.
Alegeri.tv is offering an unlimited hosting space for posting materials related to any political party. We provide a thorough publishing management of all received materials, making sure there is a correct representation of each party's or candidate's message.
Compared with other online sites for political advertising, Alegeri.tv allows for a unitary representation, both at a geographical and organizational level. Thus, voters can access information on the local, parliamentary or presidential elections, as well as those for the European Parliament. Voters can identify the candidates in any county or town in the country by using the political party or surname. The website meets the user's need for interactivity by offering them the possibility of presenting their own preferences and criticisms, as well as a system of rating the video clips.
During 2008 local elections, Alegeri.tv recorded almost 75.000 visits and almost 500,000 page views, according to Google Analytics. Alegeri.tv paved the way for a new form of promoting electoral programs in Romania (we can point out that after November 2007 there were several similar initiatives). We anticipated the future of a politician who promotes his own video clips online and who follows the voters' comments; a politician searching for new means to identify himself with the voters.
In conclusion, the internet is a means of communication that is quickly growing in Romania. The internet allows for the distribution of a message across numerous social categories: young people, university graduates and, especially, political analysts, journalists, politicians, and opinion makers as a whole. Yet the internet is almost ignored by political parties.
In order to implement Alegeri.tv, the Zitec team relied on the experience gained within the past five years of developing web applications. One of the most relevant references was the site, Election.tv, a site which closely follows the U.S. political scene.
Project description
Launched before the elections for the European Parliament, in autumn 2007, the site was intended to sustain coverage of an unlimited number of electoral campaigns and candidate presentations. The system on which this works is simple. For example, the candidates and the parties participating in the electoral process have personalized webpages, which contain four sections: the CV and the personal data of the candidate/party, the Video section, where the electoral video clips are uploaded, the News section and a section on Opinions and Electoral Programs.The Zitec team invests a continuous effort into obtaining information, both for the lists of candidates and for information about them, a process that is often difficult and time consuming.
The video materials, news, events and other information on the site are directly received from the party or candidate staff, from the media partners of Alegeri.tv or from the online media (i.e. YouTube.com). Through the RSS flows, Alegeri.tv automatically receives news from trusted online sources, offering an aggregate supply of information on electoral themes (both from the central media and from well-known political blogs).
A problem that Zitec faced at the moment of the site's initial launch was the difficulty in getting the candidates to appear on the Internet, given the lack of awareness of the need for an online presence from the political parties' staff. For example in the case of the elections for the European Parliament in 2007, despite the participation of 14 parties, only one of these had a consistent online presence, both with video clips and with the presentations of its candidates.
However, during the local elections, the situation has improved. Many more politicians seem to understand that the Internet can provide a better transparency of the electoral program and a potentially higher audience. These politicians are now more invested in their image on the Internet, and have fulfilled requests to create profiles on the Alegeri.tv website by sending in video clips or managing their own campaign accounts.
At the 2008 local elections, a higher number of campaign managers were involved. Some of these campaign managers even managed the parties' accounts for candidates countrywide. Even if it is not an impressive figure, we expect that during the next elections more politicians will understand the necessity of their presence on this type of site, especially given the fact that the Alegeri.tv services are free.
Advantages
The major advantage of the Alegeri.tv website is the creation of a permanent connection with the voter, given the time frame of the electoral message's presence.Alegeri.tv retains all information gathered in an archive for future review and, at the end of an electoral campaign, it presents the results of the voting round. Free services for politicians and parties are supported and encouraged by the Zitec team in order to allow for equal chances of promotion for independent candidates or political parties with small budgets.
The goal of the Alegeri.tv project is to impartially present the electoral offer to voters, without influencing their decision. The Internet and especially the services of sites such as Alegeri.tv should become more attractive to politicians, given the fact that CNA plans to allow the televisions to charge for air space aimed at politicians.
Alegeri.tv is offering an unlimited hosting space for posting materials related to any political party. We provide a thorough publishing management of all received materials, making sure there is a correct representation of each party's or candidate's message.
Compared with other online sites for political advertising, Alegeri.tv allows for a unitary representation, both at a geographical and organizational level. Thus, voters can access information on the local, parliamentary or presidential elections, as well as those for the European Parliament. Voters can identify the candidates in any county or town in the country by using the political party or surname. The website meets the user's need for interactivity by offering them the possibility of presenting their own preferences and criticisms, as well as a system of rating the video clips.
Results
At the moment, the site benefits from a large recognition among the voters: for example, in November 2007, on the occasion of the elections for the European Parliament, the site recorded almost 50,000 visits and almost 250,000 page views, according to Google Analytics.During 2008 local elections, Alegeri.tv recorded almost 75.000 visits and almost 500,000 page views, according to Google Analytics. Alegeri.tv paved the way for a new form of promoting electoral programs in Romania (we can point out that after November 2007 there were several similar initiatives). We anticipated the future of a politician who promotes his own video clips online and who follows the voters' comments; a politician searching for new means to identify himself with the voters.