General Election Social Media Usage: The Missing Link

May 15, 2010 by Taran Rampersad

This general election has seen the most social media usage in the history of Trinidad and Tobago. On Facebook, I've been getting more friend requests from politicians than pretty women - a horrible thought in my book with aged politicians wanting to be my friend for political expediency. Ahh, the trials and tribulations of being on Facebook...

Humor aside, there has been a lot of web advertising and social media advertising. There has been a lot of discussion by people regarding the candidates and issues, from Twitter to Facebook to the larger thing called the internet. And, for the most part, it's good. In fact it can be downright entertaining at times.

But something is missing.

Interaction.

It isn't as if the politicians themselves are reading these sites, what is being said and who is saying it - I'm fairly certain that some assistant, far removed from the actual politician, is the one parading as the politician on the Internet. So the politicians are simply using social media as a method of broadcasting instead of using the tool for interacting with people. To them, it seems, social media is exactly like the cars with loudspeakers they have playing jingles at a few thousand decibels.

And that is probably one of the largest problems with politicians in general and specifically in Trinidad and Tobago - they give the illusion of being close to the people when in fact they are as distant as they ever were.

They want your vote and are willing to have one of their lackeys broadcast at you. But interact? Oh, no. They might have to respond. And they are scared of that... and maybe they're scared of the people they say they want to represent unless they alone have the microphone.

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