Visiting the websites of our official Canadian political parties, some of the first images we recognize may be a large white F on a blue background, or a small bird with a soft blue T. Although it is hard to describe an iconic symbol in text, we can vividly picture the logos of the most popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter . Twitter particularly has allowed public citizens access to a different side of the world’s leaders that we look to for answers and change. Participation and open communication in political democracy is promoted by social networking services. Citizens can easily feel informed and up to date and many view this now as a right and a need, no longer a want or wish. These are the kinds of services our society has begun to feel the need to rely on for their breaking news, latest updates from family, friends, and even strangers, and the most recent changes in the areas that interest them. The rapid advancement of the technology around us has both enabled instant notification of these interests and a renewed need of participation in political democracy as well. Many would agree that more technological advancement has been made in the past 2 years than in the past 20 when it comes to ease of communication and access to simple services that connect us in unimaginable ways with those in the world around us. We can head to YouTube and search for Stephen Harper, or visit Twitter to view the current activities of Barack Obama or Jack Layton. Social networking services, Twitter especially, can be accessed on the go as well with the social networking service allowing participation and updates through smart phone applications and internet browsers along with basic cell phone text messaging. Many believe that we c… … middle of paper … …gn used social media and the Internet to its advantage to win the American presidential election. While not depending on DNC funding for their campaign, but instead the grassroots citizen donors they ed create through social networks and their own social website, the Obama campaign proved that the media we depend on in today’s world is directly linked to the democracy we provide for ourselves. The messages we absorb and promote through social media can directly affect the world we live in. Whether it’s spreading the time and date of a protest or rally that can directly effect our own local area and political landscape or telling others about the good that a particular politician is doing in their area so others will contribute to their campaign are just two illustrations that have already come to fruition proving that social media promotes and harbors democracy.