Obama’s Campaign and Social Media

Barack Obama has 165,414 followers in Twitter, 19,837 friends on MySpace, 3,697,613 supporters on Facebook, 500+ connections on LinkedIn, and about 2,000 members in groups supporting him in Second Life.  He was elected president.

Was Obama elected president because he acquired so much support on social media sites?  Or was he elected president and acquired so much support on social media sites because people wanted to feel good about electing a black man and because the Republican candidate was Democrat light?

Just because there is a correlation between two pieces of information does not mean that one is the cause of the other.  They could both be effects of the same cause.

Before conservatives and Republicans in general spend too much more time and effort on developing networks on social media services, we need to decide what we are trying to accomplish there.  Are we building morale, networking, communicating, organizing, training, educating, converting independents and Democrats? 

Also, how exactly did Obama’s campaign use social media, and what were the results?  Would similar tactics and tools work with the Republican Party’s current and potential audience?

Once we’ve decided what our purpose and audience are, then we can determine which tools will help us meet our goals.

My Take on Twitter after a Month

I joined Twitter on December 1.  As I wrote the next day, I was aware of a number of my professional colleagues (in higher education) who were using Twitter.  I didn’t see the point, but I decided to give it a try.

Right now I’m following 36 people/groups, I have 59 followers, and I’ve posted 132 updates.

Some people I follow are on the Top Conservatives on Twitter list.  People on the list are ranked by the number of followers they have.  The first-ranked person on the list currently has 7,355 followers and is following 6,510, and none of the tweets on his page right this minute have anything to do with conservative politics.

The stated purpose of the TCOT list is “to build the conservative community on Twitter.”

Why?

What will this “community” do?  How can more than 7000 individuals and organizations be a community anyway?  How can the top-ranked conservative possibly read updates by 6510 people?  (I can’t keep up with all the updates of the 36 that I’m following.)  How will increasing the number of followers of conservatives on Twitter aid the conservative movement?

Barack Obama has 156,095 followers on Twitter, but what did that accomplish?  Did his presence on Twitter actually convince anyone to vote for him, or was it just a morale builder for liberals?

There may be a point to following conservative candidates and leaders (like Michelle Malkin) on Twitter to demonstrate our support for them and find out what they are doing and thinking.  However, that doesn’t explain why I should “follow” anyone else who calls him- or herself a conservative–especially if he or she is posting about other uninteresting (i.e., personal) topics.

To be honest, I still don’t see the point of Twitter, or other microblogging services, and I think their potential in education and political activism is limited.  There are other tools that will probably work better–once we decide what exactly we are trying to accomplish in the conservative movement with web 2.0 (including “social media”) applications and other technology like virtual worlds.

I suspect, though I have no proof, that this emphasis on social media by a segment of the conservative movement is being lead by marketing types.  If conservatives want to learn how to use technology effectively to advance our candidates and causes, we should look to people in instructional technology and technical communication–not in marketing and advertising.

We need to focus on teaching Americans about the Constitution, the history of the country, capitalism, conservatism, etc., rather than trying to be the most popular conservative on Twitter or Facebook.

Yes, I will continue to update my Twitter account, and I hope my followers will find my posts informative and/or thought provoking.

Who Is Saul Anuzis? #RNCChair @SAnuzis

A number of people whose blogs and tweets I read regularly have been promoting Saul Anuzis for the new RNC Chair.  I ran across his name last month in a list of candidates for the position, which I wrote about here.  I didn’t know anything about him, so I did a little research.

He is currently the Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.  According to his website,

Saul Anuzis is not your typical Republican State Chairman. He is an unabashed Reagan-conservative with strong opinions about the role of government. He is also one of the most tech savvy chairmen in the country. The phrases often used to describe him include “constantly inmotion”, “whirlwind”, “true believer” and “man with a plan”. He joined the Teamsters union and rides a Harley Road King. But he leaves the Harley home when he’s campaigning so he can Twitter, blog and blackberry on the road. He is also a Boy Scoutmaster and a hockey dad. And, he is as committed to the Republican Party’s conservative roots as he once was to the liberation of Lithuania, the country his parents fled before seeking the American dream in Detroit, Michigan.

Saul is a believer in the core principles of Republicanism. They are the reason he became a Republican. He certainly wasn’t born into it. Saul grew up in a working class neighborhood in Detroit. He played in the streets with the kids of other autoworkers. He saw Ronald Reagan speak to those workers with a message that spoke to him as well. And he knows that, until we reach those voters again, Republicans will not win.

 The theme of his campaign is “The comeback starts now.”

In his “Blueprint for a GOP Comeback,” he outlines his plan for that comeback

• one idea at a time
• one neighborhood at a time
• one email at a time
• one dollar at a time

I’d recommend reading his plan.  I intend to look at it more closely.

His interest in and use of web 2.0 applications is a plus.  On the home page of his site are links to his online presence in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Video, YouTube, blip.tv, and Flickr.  The obvious omission from the list is Second Life.  (A search for Anuzis using the in-world search engine yielded non results.)  That omission does cause me to question how serious/deep his interest in and knowledge of web-based tools are.

More important than his use of technology is his commitment to conservative principles, which is at least displayed on his website and in his plan, but I don’t know enough about his history to know how committed a conservative he is.

I also have to ask why he is going to all this trouble campaigning for the position of RNC Chair when, as I wrote a week ago, the Chair is selected by the members of the RNC–not the members of the party at large.  (I don’t know if the other announced candidates are doing the same.)

Another Resource for People Using Twitter (Twitterers?)

As I’ve discovered, a lot of conservatives are using or trying Twitter.  That’s why I’ve been posting videos (“Video: “Twitter 101”,” “Video: “How To use Twitter, Twitter Search, TwitScoop…”,” and “Video: “Hashtags for Twitter Groups & Events”“) and bookmarking sites (“Links for 2008-12-06” and “Links for 2008-12-07“) about Twitter.

I just ran across a blog titled TwiTip, which provides “Twitter Tips in 140 Characters or More.”  It looks like a good resource.

Video: “Hashtags for Twitter Groups & Events”

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If You Want Me To Follow You on Twitter

If you want me to follow you on Twitter, don’t waste my time.  If necessary, set up separate accounts to tweet about what you’re doing in your personal, professional, and political lives.  However, even if you’re a member of my family, I don’t care about the score in the football game you’re watching, what party you’re going to, or what you’re having for dinner.

Video: “How To use Twitter, Twitter Search, TwitScoop…”

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Video: “Twitter 101”

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Video: “Twitter Feed [11/28/08]”

Twitterfeed is service that allows you to post anything with an RSS feed as an update to your Twitter account.  I discovered this while reading Mark Hillman‘s “tweets.”

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Video: “Twitter in Plain English”

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