Political

Twitter etc and the election: Is it worth the risk?

That’s the headline on a BBC report today, which also features myself:

Former Liberal Democrat web chief Mark Pack believes the internet will spell the end of indentikit candidates, all repeating the same election message crafted for them by party HQ.

“It will encourage individuality and creativity,” he says.

He even argues that round-the-clock scrutiny by camera-phone wielding voters is a good thing for aspiring politicians: “In a less politically divided age, the personal attributes of a candidate are increasingly important.”

But Mr Pack, who co-edits the Liberal Democrat Voice blog and is an associate director of PR firm Mandate, says social media may not truly come into its own until after the final vote has been cast.

With a possible hung Parliament and one or more of the parties potentially facing leadership contest, politicians are going to need a fast, cheap and convenient way to rally support and raise money.

As Barack Obama found during his US presidential campaign, when it comes to generating a “bandwagon effect”, the internet is hard to beat.

There’s much good stuff in the rest of the report, including insights from Tim Mongtomerie and Tom Harris MP, so do go and take a read.

UPDATE: There is also now this research into the impact of Twitter on elections.

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