Mapping the Online Campaign Audience: An Analysis of Online Participation and Its Mobilizing Potential in the 2011 Finnish Parliamentary Campaign

Abstract

This article analyzes Internet use in conjunction with the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election. The aim was to examine online participation and aspects of its mobilizing potential by studying both the extent and the ways citizens used the Internet for participatory activities. The analysis utilizes survey data from the Finnish National Election Study survey. The findings show that a certain group of citizens uses the Internet in a broad and expressive way. This use is also reflected in how they participate online and offline, as well as how they form the informational basis for their voting choices. Moreover, to some extent, use of the Internet also appears to indirectly mobilize citizens beyond the Internet. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.