Will tweets make the difference in the 2012 US presidential election?
Twitter allows candidates to reach their constituencies without gatekeeper
Twitter and other social media are being used by candidates to energise supporters, raise funds and shift the focus of the public debate for what some call the nation’s first “social election” in November.
Twitter has the potential “to sway the national narrative”, said Zach Green, head of the media consultancy 140Elect, which advises candidates on how to use Twitter.
Because Twitter democratises the delivery of information, tweets can help a candidate by getting out a message that might not be seen on tradi-tional media like newspapers and television.
“Twitter is a way of injecting a message into the national conversation... before anyone writes the story you can get your side out there,” Mr Green said.
“You can also go around the national discussion because Twitter allows candidates to reach their constituencies without gatekeeper.”
Tony Fratto, a former White House and US Treasury spokesman in the George W. Bush administration who is now a partner in the consulting firm Hamilton Place Strategies, said Twitter can be a game-changer.
“It has made it possible for campaigns to immediately communicate with large numbers of potential voters in about the cheapest way you can imagine,” Mr Fratto said.
“Not only can you impress a message on millions of people, but you can respond to charges quickly. In the old days, you would have someone put a TV ad, and it would take time to write a press release or produce an ad to counter that.”
“With Twitter, the moment the charge or a critical ad or news report hits, you are in a position to respond in your own voice immediately and to generate responses from your supporters.”
President Barack Obama has a huge head start on Republican rival Mitt Romney on Twitter. The incumbent has some 18.7 million Twitter followers to fewer than 900,000 for Mr Romney.
Mr Green’s analysis shows Mr Obama tweets 10 times more often as Romney, and gets additional support on Twitter from his campaign. But Mr Romney’s tweets are more often shared and re-tweeted, suggesting his supporters are more “engaged”.
Jeanette Castillo, a Florida State University professor specialising in digital media, said Mr Romney has more money and support from political action committees, “so I’m watching to see how much the social media capital is worth”.
“The extent to which it mobilises people and gets them out will be interesting to watch,” Prof. Castillo said.
In the 2008 election, Twitter was just getting started and had a limited impact, Prof. Castillo noted, because it had fewer users – mainly younger people – and was not as important for news media.
Now, Twitter is a major driver of news and the so-called “national conversation”.
“Twitter is a very democratic platform,” she said.