The Impact of Social Media On The Australian Political Landscape

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Presented by Rubina CarlsonOnline Media Consultant

Viral Videos- Original OldSpice http://youtu.be/owGykVbfgUE - YWC OldSpice http://youtu.be/Lspzmj3piew- Fan-made OldSpice http://youtu.be/oqHP-LtEN7w - WikiLame http://youtu.be/06MqcSsu_3c

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What Is Social Media?

-Social media is a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking and bookmarking online. -Place where like-minded individuals can gather, not bound by geographical limitations-Forum for debate

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Popular Platforms For Politicians

Australian politicians use only the most popular of social media sites, namely:- Twitter- Facebook- YouTube

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Twitter

- Microblogging site (posts of up to 140 characters, hashtags) - Posts occur more frequently (compared to FB posts)

- Content may be more trivial

Why politicians like Twitter outlet for their personal voice (e.g. “Just sat down for #qanda) ability to disseminate message(s) to many, other than followers ability to listen to political chatter, surrounding #qanda #auspol

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Facebook- A social networking site- Platform to share news, photos, videos, links

Why politicians like Facebook they try to create a greater sense of community and connection to the person/party/policy Facebook offers directed discussion spaces (e.g. comments, discussion boards) Facebook allows you to address on one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many basis

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YouTube- Most popular video sharing site - Register, then customise your own channel

Why politicians like YouTube: casual way of addressing Australian voting public through video platform where the party showcases existing footage• e.g. TVCs, vox pop, policy announcements, testimonials

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The Risks- “It’s a new form of torture for [politicians].” - Michelle Prak, Why Politicians Will Never Embrace Twitter, Prakkypedia

- Opening a two-way communications outlet means that the politician is not in complete control of their message- May be the victim of a ‘cyber-attack’, trolling behaviour or spamming activities

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Source: Australian MP Tweets, http://mptweets.com.au/what/which-australian-political-parties-post-most-twitter/

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ALP Using Social Media- Generally one-sided conversation (i.e. use social media as another broadcasting outlet)- Dramatic increase in number of ALP MPs on Twitter since the 2010 election- Provoke discussion on Facebook when announcing policy- Use YouTube as a means of engaging the ‘young’ vote

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Julia Gillard’s Official Facebook Page, http://www.facebook.com/#!/juliagillard/posts/200935743273496

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LNP Using Social Media- Generally one-sided conversation (i.e. use social media as another broadcasting outlet)- Twitter best used by @TurnbullMalcolm, especially during 2010 election- Turnbull was one of the first to introduce candid tweets, e.g. photos on the election trail- Now, he engages his fellow Australians

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Malcolm Turnbull’s Twitter Home Page, http://twitter.com/turnbullmalcolm

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The Greens Using Social Media- Early adopters of social media to promote their message and conversation with the electorate- Continue to engage electorate- Express their disappointment, grievances and successes- Comment on any environmental issue - In contrast, Deputy Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne uses Twitter as an outlet for her personality.

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Christine Milne’s Twitter Home Page, http://twitter.com/senatormilne

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Opportunities For Special Interest Groups

- Approach political figures in an attempt to persuade them to change their policy- Strengthen existing membership base, reach new people, potentially recruit new members- Promote understanding of your cause, special interest to the wider community- Organise nationwide demonstrations- Crowdfund, raise $$$$$

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The Impact of ABC’s QandA- Each time QandA publishes ‘best of’ tweets on the show, this lends legitimacy to the platform - QandA facilitates further discussion online on political issues on a national level- Journalists contribute to the online discussion- The conversation ‘peaks’ on Mondays, but continues for the rest of the week

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What Does This Mean For The Future?

- Increased capacity for open discussion of political matters, especially amongst those who may not have expressed interest before- Politicians are more accessible, even more citizens holding them accountable- ‘Politics’ becomes easily digestible- Room for quicker responses by interest groups or individual Australians

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The Impact of Social Media On The Australian Political Landscape

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Presented by Rubina CarlsonOnline Media Consultant

rubina@ercmedia.com.auhttp://twitter.com/RubinaCarlsonhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/rubinacarlson