Some Ramblings on Social Media in Politics

I don’t have a picture for this post, but I do have this embarrassing piece of inspiration:

courtesy of Dustin Welsh, via Facebook.

Out of all the still frames, this is the one plastered all over my Facebook. Just excellent.

Either way, this was me getting interviewed yesterday regarding social media being used in the Winnipeg election.  I wish I could remember exactly what I said, but there is something about a camera being in your face that just causes a mental blank.

It got me thinking about the topic, though.  The use of social media in campaigns and politics in general is, I believe, incredibly smart.  You get to connect with the people you are governing on a more personal level, and you yourself become not just a figure head, but a human.

Now I’m not incredibly familiar with Calgary, let alone Calgary politics.  But, I know who Naheed Nenshi is because of how successful he is on social media. He’s witty, likeable, and most important, a real person.  He engages with his citizens by responding to tweets, sometimes starting conversations and helping citizens via his twitter feed, by retweeting lost and found pet notices for example.

All the Winnipeg mayoral candidates have a presence on social media.  Brian Bowman, Robert-Falcon Ouellette and Judy Wasylycia-Leis seem to have been the most active. All three have participated in AMA’s (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit.  Ouellette has met with Nenshi, and talked about him in regards to his idea on rail relocation (according to the Winnipeg Sun).  I had the opportunity to ask Bowman about social media last night at the Youth Vital Signs Mayoral Forum. He also mentioned Nenshi, saying:

“you’ve seen how Nenshi’s using (social media) in Calgary and he’s a good role model in that regard.  I like the fact that he screws up once and a while on social media, I like the fact that you can talk to him.”

It’s great to see some of the candidates taking a page from Nenshi and seeing what is beneficial by using social media and I’d  love for Winnipeg’s next mayor to be as accessible and open.  It won’t solve everything, but I think the lack of transparency we have in city hall right now can be helped greatly by embracing social media.