Barack Obama turns to Tumblr to secure presidency

Barack Obama is to use free blogging site Tumblr as part of his 2012 presidential campaign, after famously using social media during the run up to the 2008 election, which saw him become the US president.

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Obama’s 2012 Campaign will now harness Tumblr, as well as Facebook and Twitter, as he looks to secure a second term in office.

The Tumblr account will be used to encourage voters to share their own campaign stories and show a more down to earth side to the campaign.

The first post on the Tumblr account reads: “We’d like this Tumblr to be a huge collaborative storytelling effort – a place for people across the country to share what’s going on in our respective corners of it and how we’re getting involved in this campaign to keep making it better.”

Tumblr has grown rapidly since its launch in 2007 and the microblogging site claims the service attracts 8.4 billion page views each month. Celebrities including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry also have their own Tumblr accounts.

The site is famous for its often “not safe for work” blogs, which the Obama 2012 Campaign recognises in one of its posts, saying: “There will be trolls among you: this we know. We ask only that you remember that we’re people – fairly nice ones – and that your mother would want you to be polite”.

The Obama 2008 Campaign’s use of Facebook and Twitter was largely recognised as the first presidential campaign that leveraged digital marketing, with many other international politicians following in his footsteps and launching their own social media accounts. Barack Obama’s Facebook page has more than 23 million fans, while his Twitter account has more than 10 million followers.

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