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Peta Menzies interviewed me last week for an article on Politicians using Social Media. Here is the article.

Politicians mission to cyber space
By Peta Menzies

'Australian politicians are trying to win the vote of Generation Y this federal election through internet social spaces though the 18-29 age group are not convinced that the campaign websites are enough to engage young voters.


Both the major political parties have joined the campaign revolution through internet networks like Facebook Myspace and Youtube. The sites advocate party policy and are designed to promote political awareness amongst the younger generation. While it is seen as an attempt to bridge the generation gap it is being considered a fractional one.


22 year-old Julian Cole is a digital strategist for Naked Communications and says that political leaders need to be authentic when they are in these online spaces. “It rings a bit mass. I think there is a role for them there but if they are wanting to get a message out they have to access the right people, the opinion leaders,” Mr Cole said.


The Political sites act as a billboard rather than a two-way interaction that the social space intends.The sites are designed for networking and just like real-life opinionated participants emerge.“It’s a misnomer to think that everyone using this online space has an equal voice. We’ve found that some people have a louder voice and therefore have a bigger audience,” he said.


Labor candidate for Dobell Mr Craig Thomson says politicians are attempting to connect with the younger generation now more so than what has happened in the past.
“The Labor party is very much aware of the need to engage with Generation Y through the mediums that are better used to communicate with them like Youtube and Myspace,” Mr Thomson said.

Mr Thomson acknowledges the need for political parties to continually develop their use of web based social pages.“At the moment the campaign pages are not having a conversation with people, its talking at them rather than anything else,” he said.'


In other news concerning Politics and Facebook, here is a great stunt from the Chasers boys on Kevin Rudd’s Facebook Friend.

Kevin's Facebook Friends

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