How Donald Trump is using Twitter effectively

Interesting insight from Campaigns & Elections:

For Trump, Twitter is a strategic weapon aimed straight at political reporters, commentators and talk show bookers. Every outrageous statement gives him a new round of media attention, and each wave of attention makes it even more imperative that reporters and pundits talk about him, lest they lose their own relevance. If President Obama mastered the connection between the web and organizing, Trump has exploited the connection between the Internet and mass media.

Of course, if you are not a celebrity and not an American, the context for political use of Twitter is a little different. But Trump’s successes with the medium can still be learnt from – as an effective way of grabbing the interest of those attention gatekeepers, whether they are journalists, pundits or others.

He can put that opportunity to extremely distasteful use. It can also be be put to good use by better people than him.

Also of relevance: How Bernie Sanders is using Reddit – and lessons on how to moderate online forums.