"Virtual Politicking": Toward a Theory of E-Mail Use for Political Purposes

Virtual politicking is a term created by the authors to describe a phenomenon that, to the best of our knowledge, has not been formally defined by any previous research. Virtual politicking is the use of electronically mediated communication (or E-mail) for political manipulation within and between organizations. As such, it forms part of what some authors hail as the most important technological and social development in history; that is, the Internet. Take a look, for example, at this provocative quote from a recent article by Hahn and Stout (1994, p. 1): The Internet is, by far, the greatest and most significant achievement in the history of mankind. What? Am I saying that the Internet is more impressive than the pyramids? More beautiful than Michelangelo’s David? More important to mankind than the wondrous inventions of the industrial revolution? Yes, yes, and yes.