Social media could decide 2012 US presidential election

Social media is more effective at getting people out to vote than traditional automated calls or television advertising, new research has revealed.

The research, originally reported by Nature and republished by Science Mag, was conducted during the 2012 Congressional elections during a nonpartisan Get Out To Vote campaign, and encouraged some to nominate to notify friends via social media, while others were requested not to.

The results reveal that people receiving social media messages when their friends voted were 0.39% more likely to vote than respondents who received no social notification.

With a tight presidential election expected between President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, social media is expected to play an increasingly important role in the result.