The 2008 American presidential election was unlike any other, in a number of ways. There was the possibility of a female vice-president pitted against the possibility of an African-American president - both potential history-making moments. Voting turnouts broke some records, and with the election of Senator Barack Obama, the United States allowed a new era of American politics to be ushered in. And the way it all happened was revolutionary, too. The Internet has, it seems, forever changed the way Americans experience their political lives.
The Internet has infiltrated our everyday lives in countless ways: We bank online, we shop online, we work online, and we form social relationships online. And, in the presidential race of 2008, Americans got political online. .
The Internet gave voters a new, direct link to their candidates. News giant CNN and pop-culture portal YouTube collaborated on two debates between the candidates, so that potential votes could ask the candidates the questions they wanted answered. Never before has that been done. Because YouTube is such an enormously popular website across a diverse demographic and because the new arrangement allowed for the people's voices to be heard, more and more people got involved. People who wouldn't have normally watched a traditional debate, where the questions are pre-determined by political experts tuned in to hear the candidates weigh in on what the American people had to say. .
John Horrigan, associate director of research for the Pew Internet .