Labour Twinge raises Twitter issues
Updated on 29 September 2009
The Twinge was a fascinating night and it really felt as though we were breaking new ground.
The combination of a packed room full of people talking and tweeting, a giant screen displaying all the #twinge tweets and a massive number of people outside joining or following the conversation made for a unique evening.
Ed Balls sounded a cautious welcome for social media in Labour campaigning and politics. He was unsure of how significant it was going to be.
Caroline Flint was the sceptic who needed to be convinced.
Tom Watson, Kerry McCarthy and Stella Creasy did a great job of evangelising the possibilities and Alex Hilton was great at scolding them all for not really grasping how democratising the internet is already.
By the time Ben Bradshaw and David Miliband arrived we had already been sent a YouTube video message by John Prescott and were the ninth trending topic on twitter.
Miliband seemed genuinely excited at the possibilities and pledged to start tweeting more and sending pictures of his escapades as foreign secretary.
The conversation ranged from how often to reply, who to follow and friend and what to do if you find them offensive, to whether the world is your constituency when you are online and how Labour values can best be displayed through social networking.
A really interesting night and I am looking forward to the next one at Conservative conference on Monday.
