New media can be a vital campaigning tool, but we mustn’t forget old-fashioned methods, urges Tulip Siddiq
I don’t tweet. But it seems some people can’t deal with that. It doesn’t matter that I have five email accounts, write a blog and text faster than you speak. That’s not good enough these days. Why is there an obsession with Twitter? Is it because the 2010 general election will be the first in this country where new media are likely to play a significant part? But they are no alternatives to door-to-door canvassing. You can’t replace mailshots with emails or speeches with YouTube videos.
Social media are useful ways to reach the electorate, but they can’t replace all the old methods. And politicians need to ensure that they use them in the right way.
Last year, when the MPs’ expenses scandal erupted, reporters utilised MPs’ Facebook pages to expose them. Perhaps a technology-savvy politician would have been more aware of how statements can be taken out of context.
Politicians’ attempts to utilise new technology won’t be successful unless they take the time to find out how they work and understand the implications of using them. That doesn’t mean you don’t need a degree in Twitter, but you do need to know that if you say anything controversial in your updates, it will get out to a wider audience very quickly. And merely making use of new technology won’t help you to connect with young people.
Then there’s the question of “live” websites”. Many local Labour Party websites claim to have the “latest news” – except that it has remained unchanged for six months. The enthusiastic person who started the website has got bored. So, if you don’t have time for updates and you don’t want to look ridiculous, you need a website with generic information that doesn’t age. And if you really want to appear approachable and available to those you seek to represent, you must ensure that you actually are.
Politicians should make more effective use of the available technology. Social networking can mean better scrutiny of our politics and greater engagement with young people. This has the potential for a genuine mass democracy. We now have the tools now to mobilise millions around a cause. This could bea refreshing change from the over-centralisation of power. Here’s an example of what can be achieved. In the United States, the Pickens Plan, a blueprint to reduce America’s foreign oil dependence, has recruited 1.5 million online supporters, built a 200,000-strong social network and precipitated more than a million emails to Congress.
Politicians can do their jobs better by using social media properly. But they need to use a range of campaigning methods. YouTube and Facebook are helpful in reaching younger people, but old-fashioned techniques are not out of date. My mother prefers writing a letter, but my teenage sister will email her MP because she’s more comfortable doing so.
So I am joining twitter. But I am still knocking on doors in my local ward this weekend if anyone wants to help.
Tulip Siddiq is national BAME officer for Young Labour and a Labour candidate for Camden council, standing in Regent’s Park ward
