Is Twitter Now A New Information Channel?

[george]

EDITORIAL:

Is Twitter now a new information channel?

As politicians tweet short versions of their policies, one can't help but question this mode of dissemination.

Are politicians making a last-ditch effort to reach an increasingly disinterested population via Twitter? First, it was YouTube, then there was Facebook. Now, almost every politician worth his salt is using Twitter - Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Abhisit Vejjajiva, and even ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, use the social-networking website to reach their supporters.

Some would say they are adapting to the realities of the 21st century - putting less focus on rhetoric-filled television appearances and press conferences and instead trying to reach citizens on a more personal and direct level. Twitter's 140-character limit makes it impossible for them to post detailed policies and this is a testament to the population's ever-reducing attention span and interest in politics.

However, one wants to be objective when defining political interest. It is difficult to argue against the constant reduction in electoral participation that has been seen in most western countries over the past few decades. The 2008 US presidential race, a historical election if there ever was one, showed the highest electoral participation in 40 years - a turnout of 61.6 per cent.

While politicians seem to be turning to Twitter and its steadily growing number of followers as the best means to reach today's time-strapped citizens, its widespread use is merely a symptom.

Several studies have shown that a large chunk of citizens is quite ignorant of politicians' policies. What do they vote for then?

Different theories explaining voters' behaviour tell us that factors, such as traditional party affiliation and personal characteristics, often guide people's choices rather than policy preferences.

Politicians are therefore struggling to reach audiences and need to find ways to get their policies and ideas across to the electorate. While Twitter, with its short, straight-to-the-point messages and updateable nature seems to fit the bill, there is however something tragic about politicians having to oversimplify their otherwise highly detailed and complex political programmes and activities for fear of losing the public's interest.

Evidently, politicians would not be using Twitter if it were not for the huge popularity of the social network. Obama, who employs a special set of staffers to manage his constantly updated account, can probably be credited for the mounting number of politicians joining what some have dubbed the "Twitter revolution". Arguably worse than oversimplified policies, Twitter's length barrier makes it particularly prone to carry empty rhetoric.

"I never said change would be easy. When you try to do big things & make big changes it stirs passions & controversy - that's just how it is", is a "tweet" that can be read on Obama's account and an example of the cliche and overused electoral-sounding discourse that Twitter breeds - only in a smaller format.

One could argue that, on the contrary, people who follow politicians on Twitter already have an interest in politics and the social-networking website gives them complementary information as well as an insider's look into the daily lives of politicians.

Perhaps, but it is doubtful that those with a genuine interest in politics and what politicians are up to would be riveted by the sort of Twitter updates we see on politicians' accounts.

However, Twitter remains an amazing tool in terms of rapidly propagating breaking news, especially in regions where governments have the press in a firm grasp. The mass protests following the re-election of Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demonstrated this perfectly, with constant updates of the events being posted on Twitter for the rest of the world to see.

Though Twitter's ability to be an efficient channel for grassroots journalism is unquestionable, its ability to be a useful link between politicians and the electorate still remains to be proven.

It does not seem too farfetched to think that we are moving towards an era where politicians' Twitter updates will be turned into information channels, just like press conferences and face-to-face interviews.

Yet looking at the kind of messages usually being "tweeted", this scenario seems far from desirable.

-- The Nation 2010-02-21

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