March 28, 2011
Early in to "Campaign '11," much is being made out of each party's campaign and the usage of social media. There is a lot of hype - with the Green Party saying it will conduct the most advanced social media campaign Canada has ever seen and statistics about each party's "Facebook Likes" and Twitter followers being analyzed. The Ontario Liberals use fRed, the Conservatives have Tory Nation. Heck, even Jack Layton and the NDP have gotten in on the gig, launching the Jack Layton iPhone app.
My background is in communications and public relations. I don't pretend to be an expert, but social media is not the be all and end all to a national campaign. We have seen its impact in local campaigns; remember the NDP candidate in Durham in 2008, who was forced to step down after making terribly racist and sexist comments on Facebook. But on a national level, social media will not win or lose an election for a party.
Ever since Obama used social media to motivate his base, politicos have looked at it as the master tool. It's not - especially for the Conservative Party of Canada.
Whether a seat is urban or rural, social media is not going to have a massive impact on a campaign, despite what the powers that be think. Picture, for a moment, the core supporters of the Conservative Party. What comes to mind? It's not a latte-sipping, bike riding resident of Toronto or Vancouver. It's a middle class family with not a lot of spare time, it's a senior enjoying their retirement years or it's a farmer. Now picture any of those people engaged in social media, aside from keeping in touch with friends and family!
This campaign is not about social media - it's about the economy and whether or not Canadians are sick and tired of the constant politicking that comes with minority parliament.
I'm writing a MA Thesis on the very topic of social/new media and it's overall relevance to democracy, participation and policymaking. In the Canadian context, at this very moment, social media is almost irrelevant... It's nothing more than a traditional media obsession.
ReplyDeleteWhat does a tweet do? Anything? What is the actual 'value' of a facebook post? Very little, if any 'value' in the political sphere.
My position is this: social media tools in an election, is there for hardcore partisans, party members and political watchers, not for random non-political 'everyday' people, and not for the 'youth,' whom social media is so often purported to be the only means of communication. Tweeting is not going to win anyone an election, anymore than a phone call or brochure will.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not the latte-sipping, bike riding resident of a larger city. I'm precisely the middle class family you describe - I believe hubby and I would be the CPC's Steve and Heather as opposed to your Zoey (which seems to fit you rather well, you social media pro and TO urbanite! - and I'm calling you that with a big wink!).
ReplyDeleteBut back to your original topic - elections are about the issues, and parties are going to use whatever means possible to get their point across. Social media is the means, not the message.
I don't think, however, that you can generalize. I think the younger generation IS actively taking it to the internet, be they blogs such as this one, tweets, conversations on Facebook or threads in online communities. I've participated in conversations about the elections in all of these mediums. Then again, that's more because this is how our generation communicates. Whereas my grandparents would have had it out over a coffee at Timmies (if they dared to talk politics at all, which they sometimes did because my Grandfather was the reeve of his township), we now tweet or update our Facebook status as soon as we hear something that catches our interest.
Those are exactly the words I was looking for - the means, not the message.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, so many campaigns think that social media IS the message and that they can get elected just by having a Facebook page and a Twitter account. It's the "hip" thing to do.
Facebook and Twitter help engage those already active in the political process. I'm going to share links and articles that are pro-CPC to my social networks and CPC-inclined people are going to click them and read more.
I do think, however, social media plays a strong role in GOTV efforts. I'll be interested to see how candidates embrace it that way, as well as be interested to see if Elections Canada will engage.