@greenparty_ie compare @deirdredeburca to @barackobama
So much for not blogging politics, but this cant be left go.
I witnessed an “interaction” on twitter between the Green Party and Peter of Donegan Landscaping.
It was started with Peter pointing out that @Deirdredeburca only uses twitter for announcements.
To which the Greenparty responded by saying
Now this is a big mistake as many twitter users do not like accounts that are just announcements. They like people to reply and interact as pointed out
Then they said the clincher
Is she using it the same as Obama?? I don’t think so.
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To be fair we can be fairly sure that t’wasn’t Barack tweeting away from the campaign plane.
Barratree, I think we all know that!
But surely was the GP suggested was that twitter can be any of a number of things and where did they say or indicate that deirdredeburca would never ever interact with people? I think one of the problems that arise with many social media platforms is the divergent expectations that different people have about them. Seriously, does anyone really think that DdB who is after all going to be running Dublin like the proverbial blue arsed fly meeting actual voters in her constituency, should prioritise responding to every tweet she might get from every Tom, Dick or Harriet? The value of twitter say is that you can reach out to a number of people when you aren’t in position to reach others for example if you were on route somewhere. But the idea that you should engage in multiple different conversations with people at the same time is mental bandwidth that no candidate can afford.
that would be “what” not “was” in the first line. (almost a Don Was reference there too!)
Dan, whats the point in reaching out if you dont interact? She says she is going to respond to tweets on the blog, but she hasnt. While on one point I agree with time etc, but other MEP candidates have interacted with me, even ones not in my constituency! So why should she be different?
For once I do agree with Dan on this – and, let’s not forget, bloggers though we are, that a large majority of constituents do not use Twitter. Why should she pander to the minority?
I mean at the expense of the minority, not generally. Obviously politicans have to do lots of pandering.
But Celtic Donkey, if you are going to use twitter and then ignore possible constituents on twitter. Why be on it?
But Stephen why judge her performance before the campaign is over, or at this stage barely begun? It’s entirely up to her the degree to which she finds herself able to interact with people twitter or whatever. I also think that some of the reactions that some newbies meet in twitter, blogging etc in Ireland (and elsewhere) would put anyone off.
You know there are times when the behaviour of some of the technorati in Ireland remind me of the worst of the gaelgoiri.
Dan, Im not juging her entire performance. The reason a politician uses Twitter/Blogs/FB etc is to connect with people they might not meet or re-inforce contacts with people they do meet. Why join it if your going to ignore the people on it?
Hang on the reason someone joins twitter is whatever the reason they had, not some reason that others have. Her reasons for joining are hers. If she uses in a way that ends up as no good to her then that’s her look out. I think her response on her blog is quite fair.
http://www.whatistandfor.ie/twitter
And I had posted for the general election that sometimes people have unrealistic ideas about the availability that pols have during the 3/4 weeks of the campaign.
http://dansullivan.blogspot.com/2007/05/candidates-cant-have-time-for-everyone.html
There are plenty of people on twitter who are not there to interact with all and sundry which is one of the reason I presume why you can protect your updates. And I don’t see anyone decrying that, nor do I see any having a problem with people sniping about others amongst their own grouping while not allowing them a right of reply. I expect there has been plenty of that around this instance.
Fact is that people will use this technology as they do others in a way that fits around them and what their priorities are. The point of an open model for a tool is supposed to be to to let each have their own way of working with it and not seeking after a homogenised ‘our way or the highway’ approach. I think people need to move beyond condemning anyone who doesn’t do as they do. Cries of ‘noob’ however they are dressed up from a 14 year old playing BF2 is fine but you’d expect better from adults. Or maybe we shouldn’t?
I still stand by my point. If she cant be bothered using it dont bother. I have had interactions with othe politicans with alot bigger constituencies then Dublin. Take Labour’s Susan O’Keefe in North-West for example. To be honest people expect a certain level of web saviness if a candidate is going to use twitter and that fact that she has linked to that post I dont know how many times from her twitter is useless time wasting on her behalf when she could be sending a genuine message.
Others can do it, why can’t she?
A Chara Dan,
I’m following suit and leaving my comment here as well as at Irish Election. You obviously haven’t visited mine. If you did you’d know the full story…. here is my comment:
Dan
sorry mate…. but what was the question I asked in the first place?
might I add that if any green party representative had come back to me and said ‘hey peter, how can we help you… ‘ [eh recycling/ garden/ blog me?] I’d have written a post on them and there super dooper recycled posters. Instead I got a bit of a personality
This isn’t about Deidres tweet [or lack of] Its the fact that I cant get an answer [STILL] from the people who act on behalf of the entire THE GREEN PARTY…
peter