Sadly Twitter Crashes a LotThe big buzz in DC this Congress, besides the whole black man in the White House thing, is the emergence of Twitter. Who is twittering? Who isn’t? What did she just tweet? Why aren’t you twittering, Senator? Politico, one of the many DC newspapers dedicated to the insular going on of the hill, even did a story where they listed the top ten DC twitterers.
As with all emerging technologies Twitter has unleashed a debate about its merits. As with all these debates, the arguing is stupidly focusing on the merits of the technology instead of the proper way to take advantage of it.
If we are to learn anything from this past election cycle, it is that it is not just about using a medium — it is about using it well. Obama not only jumped onto Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and so on, but to used them to mobilize.
I signed up for both Obama and McCain’s email lists to follow their communications and there was a stark contrast. The Obama campaign not only emailed me more often, but emailed me marching orders; McCain did not. Obama even asked if he could send me text messages. I reluctantly went along. The texts were brilliant. He texted me based on my area code when it was time to register to vote, when to vote, and he even asked if I needed help getting to the polls. Additionally, he would send messages such as, “Can you help make calls on election night, text yes to 5541 if you can.” Mobilize, Mobilize, Mobilize!!!
McCain on the other hand sent out dinking policy statements to “My Friends.”
This brings me back to Twitter. Jon Stewart recently did a segment complaining that Twitter feeds egos, stocking the politicians’ feelings that we care about their most mundane thoughts. While many politicians do this — I am talking to you, Claire McCaskill and Newt Gingrich — others use it to effectively communicate and, more importantly, mobilize — I am praising you, John McCain and David Gregory.
So let me review some political twitterers and explain good uses and bad uses:
Claire McCaskill: While I love reading her twitter, I read it not because she uses it well but because she is so ridiculous. What she does wrong:
- She responds to questions on her twitter, despite the fact that we don’t know the question
- She gave us her chicken stock recipe
- She twitters every five minutes about what she is doing
- She informs us what she is eating at each meal (okay, not each meal but I don’t care about any meal)
- Basically you pander to us trying to create the impression that you are a normal person
Newt Gingrich: While his twitter was bad, recently it has gotten much better.
- He used to update too often about useless things
- He is good about listing when he will be giving talks and about what, but doesn’t provide a link to go with it
- He needs to link the pages of the organization he is visiting or talking about
- He used to editorialize too much, but he has cut back
David Gregory: Moderator of Meet the Press. Has a great twitter because he uses it to include his viewers.
- He updates who will be on his show. In a digital age we watch TV on our computers so we don’t see commercials. His updates are digital age-style preview commercials.
- He uses Twitter to mobilize. He asks people for questions to ask his guests, and then asks them.
- He doesn’t give personal editorials or updates often so when it happens it’s funny, not obnoxious (cough cough Claire McCaskill)
Sen. McCain: Despite his horrible use of tech in the election, Twitter was made for this guy.
- The short format is perfect for updating and listing the Ear Mark projects he hates. It worked like little press brief sound bites, and he stole the headlines with this trick during the budget debate last month
- He gives updates about where he will be and when his press conferences will be
- He posts links to things he thinks are important, a.k.a. lending his voice/celebrity/publicity to his interests
- He editorializes about substance, with links, not about his own life
I could go on and on, but the point is NEW TECH MUST BE USED IN NEW WAYS. There is no point to inventing something new just to do something old. Twitter is not a blog. Blogs are for longer formats. Successful political twittering is about mobilizing and lending your voice and publicity to your causes.
Print media is dying because it isn’t as powerful as online media. Online content is interactive. When you write online and cite a source, you link to that source. When you describe an event, you embed a video of that event. Twitter should be about linking sources. Politicians’ job is to lend their voice to their constituents and to their causes. Politicians are megaphones of interests and their Twitters should reflect this.
This is why McCain and Gregory use Twitter well. They publicize what is happening and what we need to know about. McCaskill’s twitter reads like a teenage high school girl’s. It is totally asinine. Chicken stock recipes, updates on her daughter’s dance recital, and other silliness is simply a waste of time.
What is important to take away from Twitter is that it is a powerful political mobilization tool. It is a new technology and people are learning how to use it. Like all powerful media, people need to experiment, and we are learning what works and what doesn’t. When the people write off Twitter as a self indulgent narcissistic love fest they are seeing the trees but missing the forest. We should not worry about whether a new technology has value or not but about what is the valuable way to use this new platform.
The power of the digital age is not the access it creates to info but the ability it gives each and every one of us to download and, more importantly, to upload. Twitter and any digital platforms that promote uploading are useful. In light of this fact, this congresses Twitter has proven that all tweets are created equal.
As for shameless self promotion, you can follow my twitter on Labor Issues at twitter.com/soundsofthefury.
