A tweet goes a long way in politics
Updated on 20 November 2009
As the general election looms, More4 News assesses the role social network sites and blogs will play as UK politicians take the fight for votes online.
Not so long ago, a politician's idea of social networking was pulling up a bar stool in the working men's club or judging the best cake at the village fete.
Now, as the end of the decade approaches, even once technophobic MPs are reaching for the mouse and engaging in a tweet or two before dashing off a blog entry and changing their Facebook status.
The parenting website Mumsnet has become an unexpected key player in this game. Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron have taken part in live chat sessions on the site, proving they are able to answer "real questions" from "real people" - in this case all-important female voters.
But it is a risky business. Cameron's performance on the site this week was labelled "evasive" by young mothers. For the prime minister too, the results have not always been desirable. His appearance led to the now infamous "Biscuitgate" with Brown failing to reveal his favourite, then crumbling days later to confess it was "something with a bit of chocolate".
The debate briefly overshadowed talk of MPs' expenses, Europe and the economy. Most of all, it revealed the power of the web and the important role the internet, and seemingly trivial topics, will play in the run-up to the general election.
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb told More4 News: "It's got enormous potential to allow a two-way communication between elected representatives and those that we serve - helping to engage them in the whole process. Ultimately it's a very democratic process and one that we should embrace enthusiastically."
Indeed politicians who have previously complained about one-sided media coverage now have very little excuse. The internet is effectively a giant "right to reply" and many MPs have already seen the potential.
The most prolific bloggers, like Labour MP Kerry McCarthy, have turned it into a central part of their day's work. Tory Douglas Carswell does not wait for prime minister's questions to make his point, he gets on Twitter.
It cuts both ways, with politicians tuning into well known political commentators like Iain Dale to gauge the mood. Meanwhile, a poll has revealed Jon Snow's Channel 4 News blog is the third most popular among MPs from a broadcast journalist.
Speaking to Keme Nzerem Tom Savigor, from The Future Laboratory, explained: "What they [politicians] are finding is that level of intimacy with the voter is starting to snowball into a social media phenomenon.
"It's making it more instant, more immediate, and challenging the type of voter questions they would get in the past."
It is widely agreed a strong internet presence, in particular on YouTube and Twitter, helped Barack Obama become US president. His bid for the White House has been described as the "first major campaign fought online". It looks likely the UK general election will be the second.
Mr Savigor added: "I think it's one of the reasons why social media is being embraced. Obama did it for a number of reasons - one was fundraising, getting everyone to put their 10 dollars in. Equally it was a sense of opening up his voters to the way that he thinks and what he stands for. I think increasingly British politicians will learn from that sense of intimacy which [will be] a very 2010 phenomenon."
