They get how the new media world of campaigning will be. Jack Layton quotes Obama in his speeches, and has gone to school on Barack’s approach to new media.
The latest? Buying links on keywords for the other political parties on Google.
Brilliant.
Look up Stephen Harper in Google and you’ll get Jack’s sponsored link popping up right at the top
“Don’t Trust Harper?
JackLayton.ca It’s time for a PM who’ll put you and your family first. Donate now.”
Nammi Poorooshasb is the NDP’s online campaign director and admits they’ve been paying attention to Obama’s new media style of campaigning
“We’ve been taking the best from all of them. They know that this is one of the places that people go to search for information, to get the latest news, to entertain themselves. Whatever it is, people are going there and we want to occupy that space as well.” [Marketing Magazine]
The “Donate Now” at the end of the Google Ad frosts some people, but just the idea that the NDP is realizing new and innovative ways to spread the message is heartening.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Check out what they wrote up in a political blog roll in The Windsor Star:
Long before the Tories were forced to apologize for having a puffin go mano-a-guano with Stephane Dion on their website, blogger Buzz Bishop was analyzing how the different parties are deploying social media in the race. Accessible and in depth, the Buzz Bishop blog is a serious resource. [The Windsor Star]
Not bad for a pop radio dj, eh?
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
In part of my research for the 24hrs article appearing today on social media and the approach of the various parties for the 2008 Canadian Federal Election, I fired off a note to Senator David Smith, Campaign Co-Chair for the Liberals, to ask him what plans the Liberals have to engage social media for the campaign.
Instead of getting a reply, I seem to have been added to the Senator’s mailing list, as I’ve been receiving a letter a day since my request.
Yesterday I got a very curious letter, one that seemed to address the original topic of my email, but was still of the form variety.
Dear Liberal Friend,
Technology can boom all it wants. The key ingredients to winning campaigns have not changed since the beginning of democracy. I am talking about people. I am talking about you.
This election is underway and we need your help. Our Liberal team isn’t complete without you.
If you are not already a member, you can join here.
If you have the time to lend a hand for a richer, fairer, greener Canada, you can volunteer here.
…..
I’m asking you to take a moment to visit our website at www.liberal.ca and take action today.
On behalf of our leader Stéphane Dion and the entire Liberal family, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Senator David Smith,
Campaign Co-chair, Liberal Party of Canada
But did you see that first line? Here it is again.
Technology can boom all it wants. The key ingredients to winning campaigns have not changed since the beginning of democracy. I am talking about people. I am talking about you.
The Senator admits the Liberal party has no real social media platform or campaign, and then simply dismisses the need for one as being irrelevant.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I am working on an article about social media and the Canadian campaign for 24hrs this week. I’ve been hitting up some of the best SocMed minds in the country, this afternoon I got to grab 5 minutes out of Amber Mac’s day and we chatted about how Obama is using social media vs the Canadian parties.
Our conclusion - nice try Canada, but it’s too little and waaaaay too late.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Stephen Harper got the memo on social media and got his people to sign up for each and every network they could find. Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr .. they’re all there right on the front page (be warned, they kick open as popups on the Conservative site, not here).
Harper also has 2 Twitter accounts, @pmharper and @premierministre (which will become totally useless if he happens to lose an election).
Harper got the memo, yes, but he’s missing the point.
Compare his tweets this weekend to those of Barack Obama.
@pmharper; “ PM visits Quebec City, takes on Bloc Quebecois“
@barackobama: In Flint, MI. Holding a discussion on the economy. Watch it live at http://my.barackobama.com/livestream
Harper is using social media to bark out his message in 3rd person, while ignoring the very tools that have made Obama’s so successful. Social media is about spreading the word, yes. But it’s about spreading it via conversation and dialogue.
Today Harper will have press events in a backyard in Richmond, BC and on a farm in Saskatchewan - neither have been tweeted.
There is also anecdotal evidence that candidates not previously elected are being muzzled in the presence of national media. Unless you have “re-elect” on your sign, you are foreboden from speaking on a national level. This sort of muzzling of the party falls in line with last year’s banning of personal Facebook accounts for anyone in the PMO. Harper is all about controlling the message, but that’s counter intuitive to the ideals of social media.
One does not preach the gospel and hope it is shared. One must give a copy of the gospel to the congregation so they can copy it and spread it and distribute it.
Even his use of MyCampaign looks good on the surface, but doesn’t fully reach out and empower bloggers with tools the same way the NDP’s blogging tools do. The section simply offers tips to write Letters to the Editor, encourages you to call Talk Radio, and do some fundraising. Nothing new and groundbreaking or empowering here.
Social media is a two way street. Harper’s got all the cool icons on his home page, but he’s still missing the point.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The Liberals are in last place when it comes to understanding the new media reality and how it can be incorporated into an election campaign.
On Sunday they hit “refresh” on their website and relaunched an ajax-y site that is slow to load and doesn’t feature much, despite having a dedicated “social networking” button on the side.
There is a link to Facebook, and a link to YouTube. That’s it.
Dion’s Facebook page is the usual, and with Canada having one of the highest adoption rates of Facebook in the world, something that could prove effective - but Facebook is easy and, honestly, lazy.
The link to the Liberal YouTube Channel is more troubling - the most recent video was posted 2 months ago.
There is no presence on Twitter, although I have been encouraged by Liblogs.ca moderator, Jason Cherniak that one will be forthcoming. Cherniak also promises the Liberals, in fact, do understand social media, despite their lack of attention to it in the campaign thus far.
The Liberal Party has been very supportive of online activists. Only two weeks ago, the party organized an open conference call with Stéphane Dion himself. He answered all the questions from bloggers, at least one of whom is not even a Liberal. To my knowledge, this is the first time a party leader has ever done such a thing.
I am personally both a blogger and an active Liberal volunteer. The Liberal Party understands that the younger generation is using the Internet to express themselves and they are being supportive of people like me.
There are sections on the Liberal site where you’re encouraged to share the message. I was expecting to find blogging tools here, similar to what the NDP are offering, but it’s a simple request for email addresses to forward a form letter.
Dear [ Friend's Name ],
I want to tell you about Stéphane Dion and the Liberal team’s generous vision for the future of our country.
The Liberal Party has a plan to move Canada forward in the 21st century, a plan where economic prosperity goes hand in hand with social development and where a healthy sustainable environment is driven by leading edge research and innovation.
These are exciting times for the Liberal Party of Canada. Please take a moment to check out their website.
If you’re ready to make a positive change in your community, join the Liberal family.
We are stronger together.
Sincerely,
[ Your Name ]
Even at thegreenshift.ca, a website dedicated to the main platform Dion will be pushing, the only way to share the plan is to whore out your friend’s email address and have a form letter land in their inbox.
There is nothing inspiring here at all. A huge disappointment.
Then again, when you look at the website for my MP, Don Bell, which is nothing more than an endless loop of “enter here” to go nowhere, you begin to understand expectations were perhaps too high.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Canada’s major political parties hit “refresh” on their websites this weekend and they went from a dark world of boring statements and policy papers to a full throttle attempt to win over the blogosphere.
Barack Obama has stirred the political activist passion in the states, and Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Stephane Dion would like to hope some of that enthusiasm will spread north and get you blogging about all the good things they’re up to.
Here’s the first in a multi-part series breaking down the political parties and the social media fanciness they’ve got up their modem.
NDP leader Jack Layton is on Twitter (@jacklayton) and using a friendly style with his tweets.
“The campaign is on - a great start. Great to see so many people out.”(September 07, 2008) and “Packing for Calgary.” (September 06, 2008) are his first two entries.
His tweets are also prominently displayed, right on the front page of the NDP website.
There you’ll find official logos, official photos from the NDP Flickr account, some banner ads, and a pretty nifty video widget that won’t embed in blog posts, but you can put in your sidebar.
The NDP have all the major bases covered. They’re on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and they offer blogging tools which proves they understand the point of social media is to take your message and trust that your disciples will share your vision.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Some pretty big events in Canadian politics happened this week. Our Prime Minister and one of the opposition leaders fired up their Twitter accounts. Yes, social media has come to Canadian Politics. Sort of.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has TWO twitter accounts. One for the francophones, @premierministre, while English Canada gets a more active update @pmharper:
Here’s what NDP Leader Jack Layton is twittering @jacklayton:
Stephane Dion and Gilles Duceppe? Well, I guess Twitter hasn’t caught on in Quebec yet.
I’m working on a piece about electioneering and social media for 24hrs this week, and I’ve contacted many of the best socmed experts in the country and many are embarassed, aghast, and .. well .. unimpressed by the lack of vision seen by our current crop of politicians.
In the US, Obama’s use of Twitter and SMS has inspired an entirely new generation to become politically active and spread the word.
Here .. well .. if Canadians aren’t whining “Do we have to vote?”, then we’ll be closing our eyes and randomly scribbling an X on the ballot, or just finding a spot and writing in Obama.
If you have any thoughts on how the parties could be better reaching out to people, or if you know of some ways they’re using new media successfully, please feel free to add comments below.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
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