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The purpose of this exploratory study is to look at how the Internet was used by political parties and candidates during the Indian parliamentary elections of 2009.

A total of 31 web sites belonging to political parties and their candidates in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were examined for how they were used to mobilize volunteers and voters. An online questionnaire and in‐depth interviews were administered to the web site coordinators/designers and politicians.

The study found that sites were not used to their maximum potential but instead, merely for publicity, online presence, and to explore the new medium. There was greater reliance by most candidates on traditional media such as rallies and face‐to‐face interaction. The reason may be due to the limited Internet penetration in India, which also means the Internet may have less influence on voters. Some candidates have shown the way to the potential use of the medium for fund raising and recruiting volunteers. But Indian politicians will likely continue to be cautious in using the Internet.

This study was limited to the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat and did not consider the impact or the effectiveness of the Internet.

This is the first such study of the use of web sites for electioneering in India. It also documents the development in the use of the new medium for campaigning in 2009 as compared with the elections of 2004.

Existing literature has agreed that during elections party web sites are primarily an information tool. This study seeks to identify to what extent political parties have developed a distinctive role for the Internet as a communications channel.

Research data were based on content analysis of the web sites and e‐newsletters of parties contesting the 2005 UK General Election, and interviews with party e‐campaigners.

Party size determined whether they had an integrated online communication strategy or not. The Internet did provide a discrete role, that of recruiting new members, encouraging donations and mobilising volunteers. Whereas previous research has focused on the web as an election campaign tool, this study found that it was e‐mail, especially pass‐protected e‐newsletters to party members.

The traditional view was that parties used their web sites primarily to promote information. This study suggests that they only do so partially. Parties do not use their web sites as part of an integrated communication strategy supporting the messages carried by other channels. In 2005 UK parties began to develop a positive reason for having an online presence, namely as a resource generating tool, particularly in mobilising volunteers. Previous literature had considered whether parties had entered into dialogue; this study further defined this into asymmetrical and symmetrical two‐way communication. The results suggest that it is smaller parties who are more likely to use two‐way symmetrical communication.

This paper seeks to report the results of a study, which investigated the use of the internet by political parties and individual candidates in Scotland as part of their campaign for election to the UK Parliament in 2010.

Three methodologies were used in gathering data: the content of the web sites of 18 parties and 12 candidates was analysed in order to identify the ways in which participation by the Scottish electorate was encouraged via the provision of information and of opportunities for interaction, debate and feedback; the extent to which parties and candidates adopted and used social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, during the campaign was investigated and measured; and using e‐mail, Facebook and Twitter, a series of enquiries based around topical campaign and policy issues was directed at parties and candidates to measure the speed and extent of response, as well as any efforts made towards the creation of an ongoing relationship with potential voters.

Party and candidate web sites were being used extensively for information provision, income generation and the recruitment of members and volunteers. However, Scottish political actors were reluctant to encourage online contact and debate, and were unwilling to answer contentious policy questions online. Social media applications were adopted by a significant number of parties and candidates, but were used primarily for the one‐way flow of information to known associates and party activists.

This study forms part of an ongoing series of investigations by the authors, which has examined the use of the internet by political parties and candidates during parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland. These are the only such studies which have looked specifically at the Scottish political arena.

The blogging phenomenon has become a primary mode of mainstream communication for the Web 2.0 era. While previous studies found that campaign web sites did not realise two‐way communication ideals, the current study aims to investigate potential differences in communication patterns between campaign blogs and web sites during Taiwan's 2008 general election, with the aim of exploring whether the blogging phenomenon can improve the process of online political communication.

The study used a content analysis approach, the web style analysis method, which was designed specifically for analysing web content, and applied it to an online campaign context in a different political culture, using Taiwan's general election as a case study.

Results indicated that the themes of both campaign blogs and web sites focused on “attacking opponents” rather than focusing on political policies or information on particular issues. However, campaign blogs and web sites significantly differed in all other dimensions, including structural features, functions, interactivity and appeal strategies. Overall, in terms of the online democratic ideal, campaign blogs appeared to allow more democratic, broader, deeper and easier two‐way communication models between candidates and voters or among voters.

The current study focused on candidates' blogs and web sites and did not explore the other vast parts of the online political sphere, particularly independent or citizen‐based blogs, which play significant roles in the decentralised and participant‐networked public spheres.

The study illuminates the role of hyperlinks on campaign blogs. By providing a greater abundance of external links than campaign web sites, campaign blogs allowed more voters, especially younger ones, to share political information in a manner that is quite different from the traditional one‐way communication model. The paper also argues that interactivity measures should be incorporated into the web style analysis method.

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study of voters' online behaviour conducted during the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign.

The study used an interactive, electronically-assisted interview method, where 64 citizens were observed and questioned while they searched for, browsed and used information on the web sites and social media sites of political parties and candidates standing for election to the Scottish Parliament.

While online campaign sites were generally regarded as serving a useful purpose, as being easy to use and understand, relatively interesting and likely to be visited again, there was very little evidence in this study to indicate that they had any significant impact on voting behaviour during the 2011 Scottish campaign. Rather, the participants' comments suggest that more traditional information sources, particularly print and broadcast media, coupled with long-established campaign techniques, such as leaflet deliveries and door knocking, continue to be more influential in determining Scottish voters' democratic choices.

The paper presents results obtained from a sample of 64 citizens of North-east Scotland. As such, the authors would lay no claims to the results of the study being applicable outwith the Scottish setting.

The findings have implications for those candidates successfully elected to the Scottish Parliament, who may have to significantly modify their information practices on entering parliament. The study also has implications for the broader, international, political and information research communities, as it has added to a rather sparse body of qualitative work on voters' online election information needs. The voter-centred methodological approach used in the study has the potential to be used or adopted more widely, to aid our understanding of the use and impact of online campaign tools.

This study forms part of an ongoing series of investigations by the authors, which has examined the use of the internet by political parties and candidates during parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland. These are the only such studies which have looked specifically at the Scottish political arena. Internationally, most studies of users of online campaign resources have been largely quantitative in nature. The qualitative research discussed in this paper is, therefore, particularly timely and potentially significant.

A marketing efficiency model was applied to the analysis of the use of Web sites by the three major political parties (Conservatives, Labour, and Liberal Democrats) in the UK during the 2001 general election. Data were collected through face‐to‐face interviews with the Web project managers of each party, supplemented by a series of electronic enquiries sent to each party’s Web address on important policy issues. The aim was to establish the overall efficiency of political Web sites in attracting members of the electorate, engaging them, involving them and ultimately retaining them as loyal supporters. The parties used their Web sites as strategic marketing tools and demonstrated an awareness of the advantages the Internet had to offer compared with other media. A number of interactive features were included in the sites designed to engage visitors’ attention and involvement. Labour, in particular, had conducted market research to inform the design of their site. All parties invited visitors to submit comments and questions and promised to respond to such communications promptly. When this promise was put to the test, however, the parties were not all equally effective in the responses they provided. The signs are that political parties have come to recognise the significant role the Internet might play in re‐engaging a politically alienated electorate, but still have some way to realise the full potential of the Web.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of Welsh‐language provision on the web sites of political parties contesting the 2007 Welsh Assembly elections.

Expert inspection was carried out on the web sites of 18 of the 19 parties contesting the election. Goal‐directed walkthroughs were conducted on four web sites judged to be making a bilingual provision.

Overall, the Welsh language was highly marginalised. While Welsh‐language elements were identified on ten of the 18 web sites, only four web sites attempted to make a bilingual provision. On three of these, a user intending to interact with the web site through the medium of Welsh would still encounter English language content and/or navigation. Only one web site offered a fully Welsh‐language experience.

This paper only considers the web sites of political parties and presents only a high level analysis. It does not consider the impact of Welsh‐language provision on the electorate.

This is the first paper to systematically examine Welsh‐language provision on party web sites during elections for the National Assembly for Wales. In contrast to many studies of election‐related internet activity in the UK, it considers a regional election rather than a UK general election.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the content and usability of a sample of 50 UK MPs' web sites.

Score sheets were developed for the evaluation of web sites based on an extensive review of the relevant literature. In addition, a questionnaire was sent to all MPs who had a web site at the time of the research.

The web sites in general scored poorly in terms of content and usability. Liberal Democrats' web sites scored the highest overall. The main reason why MPs set up web sites was to improve communications with their constituents. However, many MPs had problems finding the time and funds to set up and maintain their web sites. There is a growing interest in interactive web sites.

Not every MP's web site was evaluated, nor was every MP approached regarding their attitude to web sites.

A series of recommendations on how MPs can improve their web sites is provided. It is clear that MPs' web sites are a long way from being ideal. Funding issues need to be addressed.

This is the latest such survey for a number of years.

This paper seeks to provide an illustrative review of the internet campaigns being waged against a number of large corporate retailers.

The paper begins with a short history of anti‐corporate protest and this is followed by a brief outline of the dominance of large corporations within retailing. The paper draws its empirical material from anti‐corporate retail web sites on the internet.

The findings reveal that in some cases internet campaigns target the policies and behaviours of corporate retailers and in others specific retailers are being singled out for special attention. The campaigns address a wide range of issues including the environment and planning, impacts within local economies and communities, workers’ rights and working conditions and the power of retail corporations.

The paper provides an accessible review of the anti‐corporate retailer campaigns being waged on the internet and as such it will interest retail academics, retail employees, political representatives, planning officers and community and pressure groups.