【王泰俐教授論文】A Comparative Study of Campaign Blogs and Web Sites: The Case of Taiwan’s 2008 Legislative Election

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Purpose: The blogging phenomenon has become a primary mode of
mainstream communication for the Web 2.0 era. While previous studies found that
campaign Web sites did not realize two-way communication ideals, the current
study investigates potential differences in communication patterns between
campaign blogs and Web sites during Taiwan’s 2008 legislative elections, with
an aim at exploring whether the blogging phenomenon can elicit hope to improve
the process of online political communication .

 

Design/Methodology: This study used a content analysis approach, or
more precisely, the webstyle analysis method, which was designed specifically
for analyzing Web content, and applied it to an online campaign context in a
different political culture, using Taiwan’s legislative election as a
case study.

 

Findings: Results indicated that both the themes of campaign blogs
and Web sites focused on “attacking opponents,” rather than focusing on
political policies or substantial information concerning particular issues.
However, campaign blogs and Web sites significantly differed in all other
dimensions, including structural features, functions, interactivity, and appeal
strategies. Overall, in terms of the online democratic ideal, campaign blogs
appeared to allow more democratic, broader, deeper, and easier two-way
communication models between candidates and voters or among voters.

 

Originality/Value: This study found a particular role taken by
hyperlinks on campaign blogs. By providing a greater abundance of external
links than campaign Web sites, campaign blogs allowed more voters, especially
younger ones, to share political information in a manner that is quite
different from the traditional one-way communication model. This study also
argues that interactivity measures should be incorporated into webstyle analysis
method.

 

Research Limitations: The current study focused on candidates’ blogs
and Web sites and did not explore other vast parts of the online political
sphere, particularly independent or citizen-based blogs, which play significant
roles in the decentralized and participant-networked public spheres.