Propaganda, rolling media circus’s, pledges, denials, debates, questions, answers and policies undoubtedly play all the right notes in the lead up to next month’s General Election, but there’s something missing from that populous list isn’t there?

No need for answers on a postcard, social networking is the phrase on everyone’s lips.

Conservative Leader David Cameron yesterday made a swashbuckling speech in a Swindon beer garden rightly praising the worth and value of Britain’s older generation in society, but I don’t think the vote will be won or lost there, what really cuts the mustard is the battle for the young person’s vote.

It would be wrong to suggest only young people hold the key to the election candidates hopes, nonetheless this age groups interactivity with the internet is influencing hundreds and thousands of young people in favour of one party to the next, just by the touch of a button as then youngsters covered in laziness don’t actually need go out there and find out who they want to vote for themselves because social networking giants like Facebook do the job for them.

Last Thursday laid down the letter of the law for Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg to burst into the public limelight. Clegg’s performance on the live election debate was admirable, but he is sure to have to win a few more political spats in the coming weeks. Nevertheless his fashionable, to the point and confident approach seemed to knock ‘Facebooker’s’ off their feet.

After logging on that evening, the coveted ‘news feed’ was awash with fan groups ‘I’m now voting for Lib Dems’ and personal statuses supporting the Liberals. It was fascinating to see how quickly support can be gained and pointed into a specific direction. Facebook certainly does have the power to influence people rapidly, as well as congregating large groups of network users together helping party politics flow in their wake.

If one of the big three political parties can touch down on the social networking scene and make the most memorable mark on websites like Twitter, Facebook and Skype it is an invaluable string to their bow. The authority social networking brings cannot be undermined, with the student vote critically influenced by the means of online chit-chat.

Another factor in this year’s fight for power is style. I agree entirely that a potential Prime Minister should not be judged on their appearance, well-being and looks, but it is just unfortunate that a damning twenty-first century audience sees it that way nowadays. Incumbent number 10 occupier Gordon Brown may not be a regular in London’s glossy magazines but he has always recognised the importance in what is spoken.

The other day I remember watching a clip of Richard Nixon and young pretender John.F.Kennedy where they debated against each other in the run in for the US Presidency in 1960. The viewing television public believed Kennedy was their man after his clean cut television bow against a frail and tired looking Nixon, but the participating radio audience thought Nixon came out on top, as of course they couldn’t see the visuals. It just goes to show the collective importance of a variety of different media.

Kennedy, won that election quite possibly because of the fresh faced enthusiasm he bought to America, and that could be in comparison to Clegg who has enjoyed a week in the spotlight following his national television appearance.

You only need to stay local though, and in Winchester the election hype is gathering pace. Only on Monday I walked past many banners and posters attempting to grab people’s attention to vote. Winchester’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Martin Tod and his Conservative Parliamentary Candidate counterpart Steve Brine both use Twitter, among other online methods to make the voting public aware of what they have been doing in the community, surely echoing how imperative online publicising is.

During the time it’s taken me to write-up this post, I reckon social networking has been used one hundreds time over by many politicians and I think it could just be the difference between winning and losing when the election finishing line comes into focus come what May.