With Barack Obama’s huge success in raising funds and supporters online, the role (and possibilities) of online politics have been a hot topic for the last few months. Beyond just individual politicians, E-democracy (the way in which the Internet can enhance democratic processes) is an evolving arena. With 2/3rds of Estonia’s population having voted online last year, and bloggers playing such an important role in the Kenyan crisis earlier this year, it seems that there are a number of roles the Internet can play. 

There are signs that local authorities in South Africa are interested in the possibilties, as the Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC) invitation to Matthew Buckland to speak on New Media recently suggests.

Translating the possibilities of campaigning online to the South African reality is not a simple thing though, as our Internet landscape looks very different to the US (and many other African countries for that matter). The online population in the US is 69.7% of their overall population, compared to 6.11% here in South Africa. The voting majority doesn’t have access to the Internet, never mind to Twitter or Facebook. In addition to this we have some of the most expensive connection fees in the world. A large proportion of those who do have access are still on dial up, which means they do little more online than check their email.

It’s thus with great interest that Rob and I discussed some of these issues with Anthony Hazell, who heads up the Relationship Management Unit of the Democratic Alliance (DA).

As Anthony explained, the DA is in a unique position when it comes to using the Internet for reaching their constituency. While they definitely feel that it’s important to garner support from the lower income groups in the country, half of their current supporters are online. Anthony also pointed out that only the DA and the ANC are really big enough to have the resources to sustainably get involved online.

This means that for the DA, campaigning through the online medium becomes a lot more relevant, in that they can build on these relationships and get more involved with their constituency. Anthony is taking advantage of this where he can.

One of the main things that came through for me in the discussion is that like the IEC, Anthony is educating himself about how the DA can market itself online. “So much of politics is marketing”, he pointed out. Anthony mentioned Dave Duarte’s Nomadic Marketing course a few times, and has been funded to take courses in online media by an NGO called FNF.

One of my questions to him was whether or not engaging with the online world is an organisation wide approach.

The DA’s attitude to online
While he isn’t certain yet, Anthony thinks that the DA will be dedicating 5 - 10% of their budget to online and mobile, with most of it going to radio spend. While this seems fairly low, he pointed out that the DA usually spends nothing between elections, relying rather on doing good work which results in free mentions in the press. A much larger proportion of the country is listening to radio rather than playing on Facebook.

In terms of their specific approach, Anthony said that “authenticity is really important online, and there is only so much time available from figures like Helen Zille for engaging there”.

“We'd rather encourage what our supporters do online than initiate”, he pointed out. Many of their online endeavors were actually suggested and run by members of their constituency.

Helen Zille’s blog, for example, was set up by a supporter. While apparently not being a technophile herself, Helen Zille does recognise the importance of online, and as such posts as often as she can. Upon writing this, her latest post was on the 11th of July, and she seems to get a number of comments as well.

Other supporter initiatives are the DA Facebook groups, to be found here and here.

The DA has also drawn up a spec for a new website. I was lucky enough to see this, and I must say it includes all the bells and whistles, from comment features and social bookmarking options to possible SMS notifications.

The Mobile Web
It's SMS and other mobile methods that actually seem to have such potential in South Africa. While most South Africans don't own PCs, they do have mobiles.

Given how well thought out the site spec is, I was hoping that the DA had a plan for mobile. Anthony could say only that they recognise the importance, and he is attending a course later this year. (While I was disappointed not to hear details, you can't judge the man for getting informed). He and Rob got into a small discussion about building a separate site for mobile vs. ensuring that the one site works on the small screen, but that's not a discussion to report on here!

Bloggers vs Journalists
I was interested to find out from Anthony how, especially given his own blog and involvement online, he views the distinction between bloggers and journalists. Anthony felt that in South Africa specifically there aren’t many truly political bloggers.
“At last year’s blog awards Steve Hofmeyer won the best political blog”, he pointed out.

In principle, however, if there were political bloggers who were interested, the DA would invite them to press conferences on the same footing as journalists.

On the state of Internet access in South Africa
The DA views equal access and net neutrality as important issues, but Anthony said that no changes can be instituted by them as they’re not the party in power. He couldn't give me more specific answers on their policy or ideas for solving this problem, as this is not his portfolio, which is a pity (so we'll have to do a follow up on that one). Their current website has a general page on their position with regards to bridging the digital divide and online competition.

Conclusion
I must say that one of the stronger impressions I got from talking to Anthony, and one I respect, is that he is approaching the possibilities of online soberly, and is seeking to educate himself (although it must be said that he is pretty informed already).

The DA can't view the Internet as the most essential way to recruit new supporters, as a lot of the people they need to reach just aren't online. In terms of taking advantage of and encouraging involvement with their existing supporters where they can, (and perhaps some fundraising) it seems the DA is building on a plan.