A couple of weeks ago we began a pursuit to contact both the official and potential Memphis Mayoral candidates in order to briefly interview them on their use of Social Networking sites in their campaigns. After our efforts we received one response. Reverend Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. provided us with the necessary contact information to set up this interview. Unfortunately we were unable to reach this person and have yet to schedule the interview.

So in lieu of these interviews, we have instead taken our own look at how these candidates are utilizing Social Networking sites. Currently six out of nine candidates have created either their own public page or personal profile on Facebook; however, only two of those, AC Wharton’s and Charles Carpenter’s, are visible to the public. You must be a friend of any of the other four candidates, Carole Chumney, Myron Lowery, Reverend Whalum Jr., or Jerry Lawler, in order to see their profiles.

The two most followed candidates, Jerry Lawler and AC Wharton, have 4,281 and 2,322 friends respectively. Most of the candidates who have decided to use Facebook have at least one group dedicated to their campaign for Mayor with no less than 100 members. Some candidates, such as Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges, have solely groups on Facebook and have yet to establish themselves through a personal profile or public page. And finally there are both Sharon Webb and James Harvey who have yet to establish themselves on the Social Networking scene at all.

Following a Presidential election where the internet and Social Networking sites were a key contributor in rallying support, we are beginning to see it directly influencing more and more elections, and we are certainly seeing its effects here in Memphis. Both candidates and their constituents are instantly connected to one another to discuss the issues you don’t see on the news.  Social Networking sites such as Facebook allow these candidates to reach wider demographics more quickly and effortlessly, and it will certainly be interesting to see how the use of these sites affects the Mayoral race results come October.