Politics 2.0

Just saw a Mashable post on how Arnold Schwarzenegger is using Twitter, a widget (below) and YouTube to push California legislators to pass his budget.



In many ways social media has come of age in 2008. Far from being perceived as a waste of time or a gimmicky marketing tool, political use of social media seems have given it a new air of respectability and seriousness. And politicians using social media are seen as being in sync with web savvy voters and open to interactive dialogue with their constituents.
While Barack Obama is the perfect case study of a public figure's use of social media, it wasn't just leaders in the West that embraced the Internet. In the Middle East we have Queen Rania of Jordan whose YouTube foray has won her accolades.
On the eve of a whole new year (not one that looks particularly bright) I wonder what 2009 will hold for social media. I guess we'll just have to wait and watch. But one thing's for sure...this isn't just a passing fad.

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The importance of being on Twitter

Telegraph.co.uk has an interesting piece of analysis on Twitter by Robert Colvile. Its interesting because Colvile seems to have largely missed the point.
In describing Tweeting as "a chore for the overloaded web surfer - another means of being bombarded with useless information," Colvile hasn't quite done justice to what is already an important social media tool.
Twitter's suddenly found itself in the media limelight (again) after Mike Wilson twittered away while escaping from a burning plane that crash landed in Denver. While terrorists held Bombay hostage, locals were tweeting eyewitness reports. At a less extreme level, Dubai Tweeter Binmugahid is looking at setting up a Twitter-based traffic alert system to help users get around the city's chaotic traffic. Twitter was used extensively during the US elections by candidates, journalists and ordinary people.
My point? Twitter is not just "a chore." When used properly it can be an important source of information. Whether or not you receive loads of "useless information" is entirely up to you because you decide who you follow and who you don't.
And yes, Twitter is full of people who want to share an evaluation of their lunchtime sandwich in 140 characters or less. But then, that's the most wonderful thing about the Internet...you don't have a gatekeeper who decides what gets said online.

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