Point of View: The social media election that wasn't

John Woodward

The recent UK general election was not, as claimed, the first social media election. Politicians who are avoiding honesty on key issues, such as spending cuts, cannot have a clear an authoritative voice in social media.

The social media election that wasn't

John Woodward

The Guardian newspaper proclaimed the recent UK election as '2010: The First Social Media Election'. In reality, it wasn't. It was the Pop Idol election, dominated by televised debates between the leaders of the three main parties.

If anything, it was notable just how little social media was involved. There were around 170,000 Facebook members for all three parties combined. A rather pitiful number, given that most British political marketers have spent the past two years attending seminars on 'The Obama Effect'. Certainly, it was far less than the...

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