Federal Election 2011: Who is winning the social media war? [Infographic]

There was a time, not very long ago, that social media didn't exist. And when it first came about, it didn't really seem like a platform appropriate for politics. But U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama proved the potency potential of a powerful online campaign during his highly successful election run a couple of years back, and since then, politicians inside and outside of election campaigns have eagerly utilized tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr to engage potential voters and gather feedback.

Social media has gone so far as to create some transparency among politicians and make them appear more personal, and personable (think Tony Clement). Still, bitter rivalries bubble to the surface when Canada's throne is up for grabs. While certainly not a sure-fire way to analyze ballot turnouts, social media stats do tell a tale of which political parties are winning in the digital space. And it will certainly be interesting to see, come voting day, how well these numbers align with voting percentages.

About the infographic: This chart includes the net followers (Twitter), likes (Facebook), photos (Flickr), and subscribers (YouTube) of the political party, including both the political leader's account and their party's page (wherever applicable). Orange boxes indicate the "winner" of that social medium.

Thanks to Yaron Bazz, founder and CEO of CrowdFanatic, for inspiring this graphic with his blog post.