Much Ado…

I hate politics, so this post is definitely a little more impassioned and biased than most you’ll read here. I hate politics because the majority of politicians are incredibly self-serving, egotistical, and corrupt. To only confirm my fears, a man I deeply respect, Eric Bidwell, ran for mayor here in San Diego on a revolutionary platform and taught us all a very important lesson. He didn’t win, but he did expose a very calculated attempt by Sanders’ campaign manager to slam Francis. The whole incident made me sick. Equally nauseating is the Twitter Presidential debate that started this evening.

Here’s a brief overview of the players, quoted from the Venture Beat article.

But it’s not the candidates themselves doing the Twittering, but rather their selected representatives — neither of whom appear to have used Twitter until very recently. Republican National Committee communications director Liz Mair will be representing Republican candidate John McCain. Georgetown professor and former Clinton White house tech policy advisor Mike Nelson will be representing Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

In theory this is a great idea. The potential to turn a pretty traditional means of message pushing into more of a conversation using a platform known for members who speak their minds – love it. Normally I’d be clapping my hands and cheering for such bold endeavors. I’m perfectly mute in praise and loudly obnoxious in criticism. Why? Just take a look at the two debaters’ Twitter bios below. Notice anything funny?

You don’t have to look too hard to find the glaringly obvious contradiction in this shallow attempt to employ new media for political gains. Both Liz and Michael are only a part of their own conversation. Liz is following a whooping 2 people on Twitter, and Michael one ups her by following 3. Where’s the dialog? Where’s the conversation? Where’s the engagement? It’s all non-existent. Michael and Liz have no clue about the power of Twitter, or the medium they’re using to debate on behalf of the candidates. So what’s the point?

Rubbing Salt in an Open Wound

There’s so many things wrong with this picture. Michael and Liz, and the candidates they speak for, are missing a huge opportunity to cut the crap and talk to people about the issues in a more human way. Instead, the agenda pushing just seems too ostentatious to ignore. The audacity is ridiculous. I read their lack of engagement or concern for the larger Twitter community as a slap in the face. To make matters worse, I found this little nugget of pure irony to drive home my point…

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