A recent blog entry posted by classmate Justin Khera draws a strong connection between the use of social media channels by both the Democrats and Republicans in the United States Presidential election and similar techniques that have been used in advertising by countless firms in the past few years. By drawing attention to this mimicry on the part of political campaigns, he is able to address the primary purpose of this form of communication: the large demographic of teens and young adults. 
Through the lighthearted use of online ‘memes’ on networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, both businesses and politicians are able to advertise their products and platforms, respectively, in such a way that is more likely to be absorbed by a technology-enthralled younger generation. Justin hit the mark in noting the vicious nature of many of the TV-based attack advertisements that bombarded Americans for months on end; from personal experience, I can say that attack ads on television tend to cause me to tune out the message of the piece. By communicating through the use of humour through a medium which is dominated by young users, bussiness and politics can make a strong effort to increasing their popularity. I found the topic of the post to be highly relevant to everyday, given the scope of the United States election and its ripple effects, but the underlying themes also drew upon much of the material covered in class in terms of marketing and IT systems, and would recommend it as a short yet informative read.
Source Material: https://blogs.ubc.ca/justinkhera/2012/10/08/election-campaigns-social-media-presence-similar-to-businesses-approach/