Following
on from the September
12 post, this essay will continue to explore the emergence of political microblogging
as a key method of political communication in contemporary society, and the
effect this is having on national and international politics. According to
Larsson and Moe, ‘microblogging can be described as a diminutive version of
blogging’, which is engaged in through social media platforms such as Twitter
and Facebook (2012, p. 734). Essentially, political microblogging is the
communication of political information through social media platforms that
allow users to publish succinct statements so that the information is
accessible by a network of readers. Therefore, the growth of political
microblogging is reflective of Waters’ definition of globalisation, because it
can be seen as ‘a social process in which the constraints of geography on
social and cultural arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly
aware that they are receding’ (1995, p. 3). However, the effectiveness of
political microblogging as a means of promoting democracy and influencing the
political process has been mixed. Thus, this essay will consider the role
political microblogging has played in the 2008 United State (US) Presidential
campaign and the 2013 Australian Federal Election, as well as the role it has
the potential to play in increasing public participation in the political
process of states and facilitating citizen activism, as evidenced by the
phenomenon of the Arab Spring.
 |
| (Pavlika 2012) |
The
proliferation of the Internet and new media through the processes of
globalisation has prompted many changes in society, including changes in the
way in which citizens engage with national and international politics.
Microblogging sites, in particular Twitter and Facebook, have begun to play a greater
role in the dissemination of political messages during election
campaigns (Chang 2010), as well as being an important outlet for voters to
express their views. Larsson and Moe suggest that the utilization of political
microblogging in the 2008 US presidential campaign showed the potential for ‘e-democracy’
(Chadwick 2008) to provide greater political transparency and public
participation in the democratic process (2012, p. 730). The 2008 Presidential election is arguably the
first ‘social media’ election, as political microblogging formed a considerable
part of the US Democratic Party’s political strategy to re-engage the
population, and in particular younger voters, in the political process.
According to Carty, 90% more Democrats attended the polls in 2008 than had in
2004, and 135% more young Democrats voted than had at the previous election
(2011, p. 74). Social media and political microblogging was especially
important in the 2008 Presidential election because of its highly voluntary
nature. Obama’s success was heavily influenced by the fact that his party was
able to utilize social media not only to encourage citizens to vote and
engender political support, but also to raise funds and encourage supporters to
volunteer (Carty 2011, p. 81). Further, the US Democratic Party’s campaign signaled
a change in the way in which political parties attempt to reach and influence
voters, as well as the way in which voters seek information about politics,
namely the emphasis of social media and digital networking.
 | |
|
The federal
elections in Australia were also indicative of the shift in the way in
which politicians attempt to engage voters (Sydney Morning Herald 2013). The
two major political parties took ‘fundamentally
different approaches to their digital election campaigns’ (Taylor 2013). The
Labor Party’s social media campaign was of a similar style to the US Democratic
Party, and focused on engaging voters, whereas the Coalition used social media
primarily to inform voters, yet there was a notable increase in the use and
significance of political microblogging across the board. In particular, former
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd became notorious for his posting of ‘selfies’ on
Twitter, which was said to be an attempt to engage voters and a means of
gaining the attention of the mainstream media (Taylor 2013). The reporting of
social media trends by the traditional media is also demonstrative of the
growing significance of political microblogging to contemporary politics. The convergence
of old and new media casts doubt on the argument that political microblogging is
only effective within, and only influences those who participate in the network
of social media sites and blogs which comprise the blogosphere (Jericho 2012,
p. 47). For example, television coverage of the 2013 election frequently referred
to the social media responses of politicians, expert commentators and citizens
alike. Similarly, traditional political television shows such as the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC’s) Q&A have embraced the interactive nature of social media
by encouraging viewers to share their views and questions with the panel via Twitter
(Sauter & Bruns 2013, p. 32). These examples suggest that political
microblogging has made the political process more inclusive and therefore more
representative, because individuals no longer need to physically participate in
political discussions to effectively present their view.
 |
| (Colebatch 2013) |
The
growth in political inclusion as a result of political microblogging was also
evidenced by the continuing response to the 2013 campaign by the community. Social
media platforms bore the brunt of the community response to the election campaign,
and thus provided the traditional media and campaign
advisors with a means to gauge the community response to the actions and
policies of those standing for office (Cope 2013). For example, during the
three national leaders debates, Channel 7 used ‘viewer engagement technology’
to allow home viewers to participate in the ‘worm’ (Riley 2013). This meant
that Channel
7’s ‘worm’ represented the views of approximately 10,000 viewers, as
opposed to the 100 in-studio ‘undecided’ voters who contributed to the ‘worm’
on Channel GEM (Riley 2013). This example appears to support Larsson and Moe’s
suggestion that social media platforms have facilitated the ‘broadening
of participation in public debate’ (2012, p. 730), by enabling a wider range of
people to engage and express their views on political matters. However, the legitimacy
of political blogging as a means to greater public participation and engagement
in the political process may also be dependent on whether social media users use
political microblogging appropriately. In the aftermath of the election many
disgruntled voters expressed their frustration at the result on social media with
a number of passionate, and often irrational posts. For example, the ABC’s
program The Hamster Decides comically remarked upon the number of ‘inner city elites’ who claimed that they would re-locate to another country because the Coalition won the election (2013). Thus,
although political microblogging has led to increased public participation in
politics, this participation may become less effective or even morally tainted
if those with extreme or irrational views come to dominate the blogosphere,
rather than remain on the fringe (Jericho 2012, pp. 250-251).
 |
| (NATO Review Magazine) |
Political microblogging has also been
utilized by ‘technoactivists’ (‘politically interested’ citizen bloggers)
(Larrson & Moe 2012, p. 731), to facilitate attempts to change government
policies, or even to overthrow political regimes. Thus, political microblogging
has become significant to national and international politics, as it has been
shown to have the potential to mobilize citizen activists, and enable them to present
a serious challenge to the status quo. Examples of this include the Occupy
movement (Jericho 2012, p. 261), and Kony 2012 (Jericho 2012, p. 256), but perhaps
the most important example is the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring describes a
series of revolutions that took place in eighteen states located in North
Africa and the Middle East, beginning in Tunisia in late 2010. During the
revolutions, social media platforms played an important role in the
coordination of protests (Khan 2012, p. 57), so much so that the governments
frequently shut down key communications systems to attempt to quell the
uprisings (Lindsey 2013). The use of social media in this context displayed
the sense of disenfranchisement with the traditional mainstream media, which can
be controlled by governments who are able to regulate media industries, as well
as the potential political microblogging has to connect networks of users and
disseminate information rapidly. The instantaneous connectivity of social media
is particularly important because it makes it very difficult for governments to
contain the spread of information. One reason for this increased transparency
is the rise of citizen journalists, individuals who capture what is happening
and share it with an audience usually via social media. Therefore, preventing
information from spreading to the rest of the world is no longer as simple as barring
international journalists from entering the country. The emergence of citizen journalists
and the subsequent removal of traditional barriers on the spread of information,
affirm Waters’ definition of globalisation, because the spread of information
is no longer limited by geography, culture or social constructs.
Overall, political microblogging has
become an important part of the political process in advanced democracies like
the US and Australia, as well as in emerging democratic states, as shown by the
Arab Spring. So far political microblogging has been engaged in almost
exclusively through the social media sites of Facebook and Twitter, as these media
platforms provide the simplest form of digital networking. Twitter and Facebook
allow information to be instantaneously distributed to a network of friends and
followers, who are then able to redistribute the information, allowing
politicians, commentators and citizens alike to spread their views to a wide
audience. The concentration of political microblogging on popular social media
sites has also resulted in the convergence of old and new media, allowing
traditional media forms to incorporate some aspects of social media into their
political coverage. Convergence is partly responsible for the significance
placed on the growth of political microblogging as an influential part of the
political process, as the political information shared on social media is not confined
to the blogosphere and the digital audience. Thus, Waters’ description of
globalisation is evident through the proliferation of political microblogging,
both as a form of communication in its own right, and as a part of traditional
media, as it has led to the realisation that the ability to participate in, and
influence the political process is no longer limited by geographical, cultural
and social constraints.
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