the Armchair of El Diablo

Lame expectations in “The Twitter Election”

So we’ve now firmly established that this is NOT the ‘Twitter election’. Gotcha.

But what were we actually expecting?

That it would be a new Obama-era of campaigning, as political leaders engaged the masses through Twitter? Why the hell would they?

The Twitterati are an opinionated bunch, and as such, are likely to already have entrenched views. No point preaching to the chorus or the mob.

More importantly – as location tweeting is still only a US feature – you can’t tell which tweeters are from the all-important marginal electorates.

So you wouldn’t use it as either a targeted medium, or - with its fairly limited reach of 7.1% - as a broadcast medium either.

I just can’t see the advantage to the pollies engaging in more than a token Twitter effort. But here’s the real reason for the lack of Twitter zing…

Why ‘Twitter elections’ get their name

As I’ve written about before, so-called ‘Twitter elections’ haven’t been about using Twitter for polite debate.

‘Twitter elections’ have always been about mobilisation.

Twitter’s most dramatic effect is when its used on a tactical level. Organising flashmobs, communicating rumours and rapidly changing news, circumventing censors – this is where Twitter’s role is in sharp relief to the political process.

This was the case in Moldova, in Iran, and even in the US – where their system of political donations is built on large scale drives for public funding. And because of that distinct impact of a single channel, they were fairly described as ‘Twitter elections’.

There’s little need for mobilisation in Australian politics. Our election is not between parties with distinctly polarised ideas. We lack the desperation that requires hitting the streets.

So, we need to chill the Twitter disappointment a bit, and revise our expectations to fit our context. Based on how well QandA trends on Twitter every Monday night, we’re seeing a young and growing audience passionately discussing political ideas every week.

If that’s not a pretty good effect on an election, I don’t know what is.

9 August 2010