Last week we had yet more evidence to add to the trial of ‘politicians vs the internet’. Many of our elected officials just seem unable to cope with the concept that the internet is both a public forum, and an extension of how you present yourself to the electorate. Time after time a slip of the keyboard causes them embarrassment, or worse.
The most infamous example is, of course, Anthony Weiner’s ummm….weiner, but they don’t all have to be that dramatic and career ending. Diane Abbott’s ridiculous (and racist,) ‘white people like divide and rule’ tweet was probably only meant to be part of a conversation with one journalist, and possibly articulates her whole view properly, but in the social space word spreads. Fast.
Ed Miliband’s “blackbusters” typo was as embarrassing and damaging for other reasons. While he almost certainly didn’t write that tweet himself, it was in his name and compounded the offline impression that he is simply not up to the job of Leader of the Labour Party. Instead of the slip perhaps being seen by a few attendees at a meeting, or even evening news viewers, as it may have done a few years ago, the embarrassment went global. Apparently, on the back of the #edmilibandgameshows meme, he was trending worldwide on Twitter at one point!
It’s quite apparent that the shorthand and quick-fire nature of Twitter has caused far more issues than other social media forms. Politicians, by their nature, are busy and passionate people, and as a result are always likely to have a slip of the tongue, particularly if reacting quickly to something in an off-the-cuff manner. In a face-to-face exchange or debate you can check yourself, clarify your point more fully, or even apologise. Online not only is everything is public, but the mob is quick to descend.
In saying this I am in no way advocating that politicians disappear offline, quite the opposite in fact. I actually believe that if politicians and those around then embraced online tools more fully, instead of seeing it as an inconvenient chore as they currently do, the number of errors would decrease, and they would stand out less horribly when they did. Look at Labour’s Tom Harris. His blog and Twitter feed have been an excellent source of entertainment and information on him and his views. Online engagement is more and more important to transparency and accountability.
It’s about time our politicians learned that dull, intern-written online content (you know the kind of thing I mean – “Great time at x primary school”, “Positive morning on the doorstep” style tweets and Facebook updates) really isn’t good enough anymore, and neither are the mistakes.
Comments
scottspeig / January 12 2012 11:27am
Indeed, there are some good bloggers/twitterers online (Redwood, Carswell, Hannan, Harris) but the annoying ones are those that have the office tweet. Absolutely pointless and most annoying since they very rarely if ever actually engage the audience.
The best ones tend to engage, converse and inform. If you are not planning to do that, I'd suggest not to bother! Compare @nick_clegg to @Nigel_Farage for the difference.
Kevin R Lohse / January 12 2012 11:39am
Great post, One of the best I've seen here. On Ed's gaffe-a-thon since the New Year, all of these malfunctions should have been cleared up by a professional and dedicated personal staff. The fact that they have allowed him to blunder in this way raises suspicions about their personal loyalty. If Ed has alienated his staff, defenestration is a matter of timing for the Labour Party business managers.
Charis / January 13 2012 10:58am
The other thing politicians need to do is get better at reacting. A quick 'oops', apology, rephrasing (as appropriate) and then ignoring it as the usually minor mistake it actually is (as opposed to major reprimands, often a day after the event that just ensures the news cycle stays focused on it). Makes them human, stops some of the comment, reduces impact.