Institute For The Future

Spoofing Facebook in the Name of Politics

In response to Obama's support on Facebook, the Republican National Committee has unveiled a Facebook spoof called BarackBook.com. Mimicking Facebook's design and functionality, each of the "friends" of Obama on BarackBook is some kind of criminal or social villain. This is my favorite mainly because of the mug shot.

 

It's interesting to see negative campaigning move in this direction, from official candidate YouTube accounts and Facebook groups to a strategic knockoff of a popular social networking site. Instead of really trying to make the same technology that works so well for Obama work for their candidate, the RNC chose the mockery route. They have, however, set up mobile text alerts, "the most effective way to stay informed and connected! GOP Mobile provides breaking news messages and urgent action alerts that you can take anywhere so you can Take Action!" I can't wait to see what comes next.