Will this election be fought and won with social media?

23/07/2010: Will this election be fought and won with social media?

Whoa! Election fever is here. With the date of the federal election set for August 21, we have a little less than five weeks to decide our voting intentions. And there's nothing like an election to create a buzz, whether politics is your thing or not

I've heard a few grumbles, including the suggestion it's all beyond our control and "they" (referring to our politicians) are only the best of a bad bargain. But that's too simplistic for me and also a hedging of our responsibility when it comes to controlling our own destiny.

We have the vote. It is up to us to decide. And whether the choices look pretty poor or not, the policies are there (however hidden or changing) for us to weigh up the pros and cons of each political party. As with most things in life, it's always a compromise.

In addition, with social media now at our fingertips we have a great opportunity to lobby to make a difference and have our say. The beauty of social media in this election is anyone can be part of the discussion. It's also scary. My nine-year-old son could be joining in the conversation, as well as my mother in her seventies or the local militant activist!

Social media has opened our leaders to endless possibilities for promotion and also to ridicule. More than 23,000 people are fans of the "Friends don't let friends vote for Tony Abbott" Facebook group and more than 28,000 are fans of "How the hell is Julia Gillard meant to run the country from her kitchen?"

If Abbott and Gillard are smart, they will harness the tools of social media positively to win the hearts of the swinging voter quickly. At quick glance, Tony Abbott has only two blog posts since May on his website and no cross-stream promotion on Twitter or Facebook.

In comparison, after a slow start, Julia Gillard is tweeting almost every day. She tweets her own personal commentaries in addition to tweeting her speeches and announcements. Her Facebook page is updated with pictures and words in addition to posting her YouTube videos. While her website is not as dynamic as the Abbott camp's, she does provide an opportunity for people to give feedback on her Facebook page and has turned "joining Twitter" into a newsworthy event.

Both parties are channelling commentary via social media tools. I'm interested to see if their advisors will take note of past experiences and replicate the success of US President Barack Obama's election campaign. As a presidential candidate, Obama had more than 2 million supporters on Facebook and 12,000 members on Twitter and ran clever campaigns across the US recruiting previous non-voters for the first time.

The British election recruited middle-class housewives to break with usual reporting methods and break the tradition of "politicians reliably on message". Britain's then incumbent prime minister, Gordon Brown, could have turned the course of an otherwise winning campaign when he was recorded referring to a constituent as a bigot.

When Sky News broke the story, the real impact of his gaff was broadcast via social media sites and within 18 hours the entire course of the election had changed direction. No longer is policy being communicated one way. We are engaged in a debate and you can be part of the conversation. Here in Australia, Abbott's recent stunt on Hey Hey It's Saturday is picking up on YouTube after he was welcomed to a booing crowd.

At the moment, even though our leaders are using social media, I can't see it being used to really engage with voters and respond to them. Twitter and Facebook are being used as just a broadcast channel. But where is the clever strategy behind the use of these tools? The party presences are there and it will be interesting to see how the individual leaders' brands will compete.

Not surprisingly, social media tools are being utilised well by the press gallery. People like David Koch, Leigh Sales, Laurie Oakes and others are tweeting messages during speeches and events providing real-time updates and commentary directly from the gallery. New hash tags that make it easier for people to follow topic on Twitter are emerging every day.

A few stats for the record

• Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has 12,904 followers on Twitter and just over 8,900 Facebook fans.
• Prime Minister Julia Gillard who has over 27,592 followers on Twitter and over 40,000 Facebook fans.
• Interestingly though, former prime minister Kevin Rudd is still leading the race online with more than 940,000 Twitter followers.

So it's onward and upward in the next five weeks as history unfolds. What are you doing about social media?To view this blog on ninemsn, click here.