Politicos and Social Media – It’s a New Game, Baby
President Obama is Web 2.0's dream communicator. His oratory skills are now legendary, but his use of social media to reach an audience is the 'new norm' in how politicos are communicating with the masses.
With today's first presidential online town hall meeting, set for 11:30 a.m. ET, regular folks (with access to the Internet), can ask their president any question --and yes, if you're lucky, he'll respond to your question (if it's voted as a popular one).
I recall my first town hall meeting. It was in the old courthouse downtown on a hot July day. The homemade flyers had dual purposes – part agenda, but mostly used as paper fan to cool down. Not from any hot debate, just plain old heat.
President Obama's skill at communicating with the masses trumps any Sunday morning talking heads TV show. Instead of a bunch of politicos telling the viewer what they think regular folks are thinking, now, through Facebook or Twitter, regular folks tell you exactly what they're feeling – in real time.
As social media evolves, politicos (and their communications teams) must step up their game. President Obama's team has. Any governor, senator, county commissioner, mayor or school board member must follow suit. Politicos' staffers will learn that they are just a Tweet away from handling a massive communications headache – one that could last for many hours.
So, I'm off to http://www.whitehouse.gov/openforquestions/ to put in my two cents. And if you have any comments, DM me on Twitter at @Lilyn.
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