From those who could vote to those who couldn’t vote, it is clear that the winner of this election is YOU – the people. From bloggers to supporters, from campaign donors to campaign volunteers, this election raised serious questions as to the future state of affairs of the United States of America, and the people responded. And record voter turnouts are just the beginning…

For the second Presidential election in a row, the Internet has become a driving force for campaigning. It has, in many ways, been the largest component of attaining success, of attaining a following. It was Howard Dean that began the Internet revolution in campaigning back in the 2004 Presidential race, using social networking sites such as Meetup.org to organize gatherings. His campaign quickly grew to a nationwide audience, and donations were through the roof.

This election has been defined just as much by the Internet, if not more so, as the 2004 election. The blogging community has become integrated with mainstream media outlets. CNN’s iReport has given a voice to the average “Joe” (I tried to avoid this reference, but it seemed unavoidable). CNN’s live news broadcasts even have integrated social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Digg, dedicating large in-studio video monitors to each site to get user interaction and feedback on live interviews and topics. We have definitely changed as a society. No longer are we a world disconnected by oceanic troughs and remote locations. The Internet has connected the world in a “news now” fashion. The result is an exponential influx in citizen participation in areas such as politics, a topic that many feared to become involved in prior to due its immense realm and a sense of not being able to have your voice heard. The Internet has delivered a world audience vastly in support of Barack Obama and the images of worldwide celebration upon learning of Obama’s victory are truly stunning.

I have set up and embedded a web gallery of a handful of photos taken from around the world, beginning in Grant Park, Illinois, and traveling the globe. Depicted are supporters in Japan, Brasil, Australia, to name a few. All photos are courtesy of the BBC and The Times Online UK. View the gallery full screen [Linked]

A sand sculpture of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, created by Sudarshan Pattnaik, is seen on the beach in Puri, India, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. Image courtesy of MSNBC.

That is changing, and will continue to evolve. But this election truly is Yours, Ours, Americas just as much as it was a victory for President Elect Barack Obama. Gone will be the days of George W. Bush’s agenda.

So, thank you bloggers. Thank you voters. Thank you participants of the social sphere of politics. We have all helped to change America. We have seen what Barack Obama has said time and time again – Change Is Possible, and now, Change has come to America. And in the closing words of Barack Obama:

“I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.” – Barack Obama, Election Night 2008

Editor’s Note: I have posted a video from CNN with Internet Correspondent Abbi Tatton on blogger commentary surrounding the election results. The video is embedded on my other site as they won’t embed properly on WordPress. [Linked]

Photo Credit: Flickr User (ravi patel)

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