I’m being shown up
When I first got Twitter, I had no idea how to use it. I
went on it for a few days, got frustrated and ran away from it like a little
girl does when she sees a spider. I. Was. Scared.
However, then came along a class where using Twitter was
mandatory. So, forced by syllabus, I had to figure it out. And now that I kind
of know what I’m doing, I’m seeing 50-plus-year-old politicians showing me up.
When did they learn how to use it before me?
Personally, as of this posting, I boast 79 followers and 43
tweets. Let’s see how I compare.
Newt Gingrich: 1,436,208 followers and 3,215 tweets.
Mitt Romney: 326,780 followers and 818 tweets.
Apparently, I need to get moving if I’m going to try to keep
up with the “old folks.”
What are they doing
that I’m not?
Maybe it’s because I’m not on television everyday, or maybe
it’s that I’m not participating in this “race” I keep hearing people talk
about. But, that’s another story.
In Twitter life, Newt Gingrich has been active on his account
since July 22, 2010. So, in less than two years, Gingrich has gained almost a
million and a half followers. This number has risen just in the past two days. I
checked Gingrich’s stats during the Super Bowl, and since then, he has gained
1,083 followers.
Mitt Romney, on the other hand, tweeted for the first time
on July 8, 2009 – that’s just a little over a year before Gingrich – and has
far less reach in both followers and tweets.
However, that doesn’t hold up in all social media facets.
Gingrich and Romney seemed to have switched lives in another digital world:
Facebook.
Gingrich: 272,681 Likes and 71,791 people “talking about
this”
Romney: 1,446,825 Likes and 138,688 people “talking about
this”
Both are excelling well in their forte, but that’s not
what’s going to help them win the election. Both of the current Republican
frontrunners want to be livin’ it up in a pretty, little white house come next
January, but that’s not going to happen if they don’t rip a page from their enemy’s
handbook.
Obama’s dramatic use of social media propelled him into that
same white house the Republicans covet.
Obama didn’t just excel in the realms of Facebook and Twitter,
he used every social medium he could and made sure his team worked every angle
they could. Now, even with his social-media stardom, Obama has to take his
approach up a notch.
Can social media
determine a winner? Not yet.
Because no candidate yet has set themselves apart in the
presidential race, no conclusion can be drawn. Romney is doing exceedingly well
through Facebook, but Gingrich is doing the same through Twitter. What call
could I make?
However, since Facebook is in primary control of the market,
you can’t count it out.
 |
| Taken from Politico.com |
According to Politico, Romney “won” the Facebook primary
because of his sudden rise in “friends,” which just so happened to correlate
with his victory in Florida. Same with Gingrich if you look at his sharp friend
increase around the South Carolina primary.
Looking at the stats afterwards, Facebook was a strong
predictor.
What do they need to
work on?
Both Republican candidates and Obama will need to review the
social media out there and be creative with the ways they use it. Media has
been a powerful force through all campaigns, is social media supposed to be any
different?
Anyone in the running to be America’s next president needs
to be having a conversation with the public; especially with the young 18-29 age bracket. The millennials of the United States like to be involved and feel that
they are a part of something bigger than themselves. By feeling that their
individual voice is heard by a candidate, that candidate would set himself apart.
We’ve already seen social media incorporated in other areas
along the campaign trail. During the Republican debates, moderators have been
turning to questions from social media users. This first appeared in the
debates during the 2008 election, but social media has had four more years to
grow and four more years to make an impact. This 2012 race is really just
getting started, and we’ve already seen more social media in the debates than
before.
Millennials, such as myself, are considered to be “unstable”
voters because no one really knows what we’re going to do, but if social media
was any predictor in 2008 and the past few primaries, it’s going to be vital to use
it well to take or re-take the White House.
As of yet, no one has taken full advantage of all the social
media out there. Once a candidate does that, then he’ll be the one in the best
position to become president. So, for now, it is a wait-and-see game if anyone
will use social media the way it is meant to be used. Since Gingrich and Romney
dominate opposite poles of the social media world, and Obama has yet to get
into campaign mode and take any territory, no one is a frontrunner in the eyes
of social media.
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