How social media has shaped the civic election
Posted November 19, 2011 9:51 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – It played a role in the federal election, but what about the civic election? We chatted with an expert about how social media may shape the outcome of today’s vote.
Twitter, more than any other website, is the most important platform for politicians to get their message out, according to SFU’s Peter Chow-White.
He says it’s a great way for candidates to brand themselves, show they’re savvy, get the young vote and to communicate, but there can be consequences.
“There’s probably less risk going on television, in terms of using that as a communication platform because politicians are well savvy to prepare for being on television, they’re prompted on how to deal with television and journalists. But Twitter is so quick that the off-handed quick 140 character clip can often get someone into trouble. We’ve seen, especially in the last provincial election, that Facebook and having the wrong pictures on Facebook can mean the end of your political career.”
Chow-White adds the strength of a candidate or party can be captured by how active they are online. He says voter turnout can also be decided by social media. Compare twitter pages for example, Vision Vancouver has over 2,300 followers, while Team Burnaby has about 60.
He points out during the federal campaign, Stephen Harper and the Tories weren’t really tweeting or pushing their message using the Internet, but they still won.
Our special election coverage begins online at 4 p.m. and on-air at 7 p.m. We’ll have a full team of reporters across Metro Vancouver.
