Spanish and Portuguese Social Democracy Transition to the Online World

this paper analyzes the adaptation and use of new digital media by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and the Portuguese Socialist Party (PSP). Plenty scientific literature has recognized an important incorporation of digital tools to political organizations during the last years. For instance, Ward (2008) mentioned that the incorporation of these new digital tools in political organizations is very widespread. The analysis of the transition from both parties to the online world will be studied using two categories: on the one hand, bottom up tools, that is, those tools that depend on the initiative of the members (they decide whether or not to use the tool) or top down, that is, they depend on the previous initiative of the party.