Thursday, August 16, 2012
Social Publicity
The presidential campaigns of 2012 are proving that social media needn't be social and in fact, are one more publicity vehicle. That is the conclusion of a just-released study. Obama and Romney have turned social media into controlled media -- distribution points for electioneering fodder. One should have expected this. The idea that a candidate would allow free-form discussion and relationship with voters is foreign both to candidates and their handlers. They are victims of "what-ifs." What if someone starts trashing the candidate? What if someone releases embarrassing data about the candidate? What if we do interact with the public? How do we afford the manpower? Instead, campaigns have turned social media into the latest attack ads, candidate's quotes, news from battleground states, etc. It is a legitimate use of media, but not a credible one.
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