Wednesday, October 31, 2012

2012 Twitter Award Goes To...Barack Obama

Why Barack Obama you might ask? Let's compare follower numbers between the two candidates for a second. By accessing my Twitter account with a touch of a button, I found that the President has 21.5 million followers, whereas the governor has 1.6 million followers. Sure the President has served 4 years more than the governor, but how on earth does Barack Obama have that many followers!

 It began back in July of 2011, Barack Obama was the first ever President to use Twitter! As if that wasn't exciting enough, he answered questions that were tweeted to him. He replied to tweets with the hash tag #AskObama. While on Twitter, the President called himself "BO" and answered questions ranging from jobs, national debt, taxes, and the housing market.

Why Twitter? And what is the importance of a national figure using social media in a campaign? I for one, am one of the many social media obsessed. I use Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin constantly. My generation includes those who have grown up around social media and continue to advance with it. As a national figure, President Barack Obama set the bar high when it comes to capturing the attention of young adults. One of his strategies in his last campaign was to connect with the young generation who who lacking when it came to the polls. As he uses Twitter and various social media platforms during his campaign, voters and potential voters have the option to stay connected and aware of what each candidate has done, is doing, or will do as President. 

While researching, I found an interesting article from the Washington Post discussing @MentionMachine and thought I'd share. As a Twitter account, @MentionMachine is said to track the Presidential Candidates and follow numbers such as who is up and who is down on Twitter. The article states that the Twitter account "reveals trends and spikes that show where the conversation is and why." It's really an interesting Twitter account to follower if you tweet.
 Long story short, I believe Twitter is very influential for communication between Presidential candidates and young adults. It provides quick and easily accessible information with numerous sources to choose from. And as far as who out tweets who.. Barack Obama wins by a landslide! 

 Check these out: @BarackObama & @MittRomney


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4 comments:

  1. Megan FlynnNovember 1, 2012 at 9:32 AM

    I think it's important that you mentioned Obama's use of Twitter in the 2008 election. I just recently found out that my dad actually has a Twitter account (he HATES social media!). When I asked him about it, he said the only reason he has one was because he heard that Obama was using it as a innovative campaign tool back in 2008, and he wanted to see what it was all about. In this case, my dad who's a technology dork, only got a Twitter account because he figured that if Obama was using it, it must be the 'next big thing.'

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  2. SJL2012November 5, 2012 at 3:47 PM

    That's awesome Megan! I would be just as shocked if I noticed that either of my parent's had a Twitter account. Just curious, now that he knows you noticed his account, does he mention what he sees on Twitter? Is your Mom interested in an account because your Dad has one?

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  3. Sean LuechtefeldNovember 6, 2012 at 6:22 AM

    I love this! I will say that everyone wants to say that Obama is the first 'social media candidate,' but that's so presentist. I think a more helpful discussion has to do with *how* candidates use social media. One politician who I think is using Twitter in an innovative way is Newark Mayor Cory Booker. He actually Tweets to residents of Newark when they indicate problems in their community. Just the other day, someone tried to claim there was a pothole on his street, but it turns out he was in Dublin. Booker re-tweeted by saying "I've got 99 problems but your ditch ain't one."

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  4. SJL2012November 6, 2012 at 10:52 AM

    Great example Sean! Thanks for the feedback! I follow new Jersey governor Chris Christie and he would be an excellent example as well. A politician using social media, in this case Twitter, to speak to a mass amount of people.

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