Twitter fits perfectly in the arsenal of any modern political campaign. From government agencies to political candidates all have found in Twitter one of the most powerful ways of spreading their message. The very nature of Twitter —short, targeted messages, that quickly reach a large number of citizens— makes it the perfect broadcasting tool for anyone involved in politics.
This is also true for other Social Media outlets such as Facebook or YouTube, that have radically changed the way most people interact, with politics in all of its expressions probably being the area of human social activity most affected by this digital revolution. No sane candidate would these days attempt to deny the importance that the role of Social Media exerts upon the successful outcome of any political campaign, a particularly crucial factor when it comes to gauging popular support. By now even the most computer illiterate public relations officer is fully aware that posting at blogs and interacting at social sites provide an invaluable dimension to the promotion of a candidate’s cause.
However, Twitter is somewhat different. In this age in which the attention span of humans is decreasing as modern technology increases, having a 140 character limit seems most appropriate. Several studies have concluded that most internet users spend less than one minute on the average website, and that the addictive nature of web browsing can leave you with an attention span of nine seconds, just about the same as a goldfish.
That may explain why, in spite of all negative forecasts cast upon Twitter since its very beginning, today it keeps growing, and it does so at a record pace on every measure. It would also help to explain why so many personalities and institutions have recognized the benefits of tweeting along and have fallen for it. Among the people who joined Twitter in 2011 are the likes of the Pope, Nelson Mandela, the House of Lords or the U.S. Secret Service, this last one seemingly not as much concerned about the ‘Secret’ part than about the ‘Service’ one. Who knows, Mum’s the Tweet.
Among the plethora of websites dedicated to Twitter in Politics we have selected a few listed below:
Politics Tweet
http://www.politicstweet.com/
Political information being tweeted by influential politicians all in one place.
GovTwit
http://www.blog.govtwit.com/about/
World’s largest directory of all facets of government on Twitter: state and local, federal, contractors, media, academics, non-profits and government outside of the U.S.
Tweet Congress
http://classic.tweetcongress.org/
A grass-roots effort to get men and women in the U.S. Congress to open up and maintain real conversations in Twitter.
Tweetminster
http://tweetminster.co.uk/
Tweets from U.K. politicians, civil servants, activists, academics, business analysts and journalists.
Canadian Politicians On Twitter
http://politwitter.ca/page/canadian-politicians-on-twitter
A combined list of both federal and provincial elected representatives. You can find more specific lists using the links below.
- Map of Canada Tweeters
- List of Federal MP’s on Twitter
- List of Provincial MLA’s on Twitter
- Canadian Federal MP’s without Twitter
