Why vote? The marketing dynamics of apathy
15 Nov 2012
I voted for the first time in the past election. A number of my classmates disparaged the political process: "getting to choose your master doesn't make you any less of a slave", they would say.
For I while I've been feeling apathetic about politics. 2008 was enthusiastic and then the following two years were a lame scramble. The last two seemed to be in constant campaign mode, a mere distraction about political power.
But the blog post below, by Seth Godin, is the best case I've seen so far to encourage voting. As he concludes: "If enough smart people start voting again, things will improve, because billions of dollars in political marketing will suddenly be trying to please you."
For I while I've been feeling apathetic about politics. 2008 was enthusiastic and then the following two years were a lame scramble. The last two seemed to be in constant campaign mode, a mere distraction about political power.
But the blog post below, by Seth Godin, is the best case I've seen so far to encourage voting. As he concludes: "If enough smart people start voting again, things will improve, because billions of dollars in political marketing will suddenly be trying to please you."
Sent to you via Google Reader:
Why vote? The marketing dynamics of apathy
via Seth's Blog by Seth Godin on 11/5/12
Here's what political marketers learn from people who don't vote:
Nothing.
If you don't vote because you're disappointed with your choices, disgusted by tactics like lying and spin, or merely turned off by the process, you've opted out of the marketplace.
The goal of political marketers isn't to get you to vote. Their goal is to get more votes than the other guy. So they obsess about pleasing those that vote. Everyone else is invisible.
Steakhouses do nothing to please vegetarians who don't visit them, and politicians and their handlers don't care at all about non-voters.
The magic of voting is that by opting in to the system, you magically begin to count. A lot.
If you don't like negative ads, for example, then vote for the candidate who ran even 1% fewer negative ads. Magically, within a cycle or two, the number of negative ads begins to go down.
One reason that people don't vote (a real, usually unspoken reason) is that they don't want to feel responsible for the person who wins. The other reason is that they don't want to live with the disappointment of voting for someone who loses. Both of these reasons ignore the marketing reality: not voting doesn't make marketing or politics go away. It merely changes the person the marketers are trying to please.
Vote tomorrow. Bring a friend. If enough smart people start voting again, things will improve, because billions of dollars in political marketing will suddenly be trying to please you.
Nothing.
If you don't vote because you're disappointed with your choices, disgusted by tactics like lying and spin, or merely turned off by the process, you've opted out of the marketplace.
The goal of political marketers isn't to get you to vote. Their goal is to get more votes than the other guy. So they obsess about pleasing those that vote. Everyone else is invisible.
Steakhouses do nothing to please vegetarians who don't visit them, and politicians and their handlers don't care at all about non-voters.
The magic of voting is that by opting in to the system, you magically begin to count. A lot.
If you don't like negative ads, for example, then vote for the candidate who ran even 1% fewer negative ads. Magically, within a cycle or two, the number of negative ads begins to go down.
One reason that people don't vote (a real, usually unspoken reason) is that they don't want to feel responsible for the person who wins. The other reason is that they don't want to live with the disappointment of voting for someone who loses. Both of these reasons ignore the marketing reality: not voting doesn't make marketing or politics go away. It merely changes the person the marketers are trying to please.
Vote tomorrow. Bring a friend. If enough smart people start voting again, things will improve, because billions of dollars in political marketing will suddenly be trying to please you.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Seth's Blog using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites