Singaporeans will be going to the polls in about six day’s time. This time, the elections have taken on a multi-dimensional approach as new media has come to the fore. During each rally each night, thousands of images, tweets and Youtube videos would be uploaded, shared, and commented on.
From Facebook fan pages for various political parties and specific politicians and activists, to YouTube videos, to live streaming of political rallies, to multiple blogs and viral images, there is no doubt that the power of new media is a force to be reckoned with.
I’ve listed below some of the many links that will help you get a handle on the politics of new media and the new media of politics!
A team of young PAP bloggers were on hand to capture and update posts on the fly on the PAP website as well as on Facebook and Twitter, and netizens could also send Twitter updates and comments. At the same time, partcipants at the event could sms their comments and questions, making the whole atmosphere seem very Web 2.0 – the age of participation and engagement.
According to an article by CNA, “this is the first time new media tools have been given such a prominent spot at the PAP Convention. It is part of a broader effort to update and refresh the party image, reach out to the wider public, and hopefully bring in new members”. Young PAP has a Facebook page to reach out to the young too.
I believe this could be seen as a sincere attempt by the party to use new media to engage its members as well as the larger public. This could be a response to comments made about lip service and all.
The party also screened his political video, in a move to signal that yes, political videos are acceptable. In fact, the government has announced that political videos would be allowed for the next GE.
This is one of the videos – on Unsung Heroes:
Also, in a move to also reflect the age of participation in the live event, (not just in virtual worlds) the party invited ordinary members to make speeches and reach out to their fellow member.
We look forward to seeing how new media will be used to enhance the political climate in Singapore!
I’ve written previously about how politicians are using new media to reach out and stay connected with the public. Local politician Mr George Yeo has been one of the ‘pioneers’ amongst his politican peers to use new media. He started with his blogging and then progressed to having a Facebook page which he updates pretty regularly. So now, you can go on and poke George Yeo. He go so popular that he exceeded the 5000-friends limit and has since started a new public facebook page to accommodate the ever-increasing number of friends and suuporters.
It seems that his use of new media has helped to make him more approachable. Just the other day, a student who was facing some Visa problems for her trip to the US emailed him, and he was able to help her sort out her mess. No doubt, this will help boost his popularity even further and will no doubt prompt others to turn to him for help. Already, many supporters are sending him messages and leaving him encouraging notes on his facebook page!
It certainly looks like Mr George Yeo has found success with new media!
2009 saw the continuation of the Israel-Hamas battle over the Gaza Strip which had started about a week and a half before the end of 2008.
I recall the very moment I had first inklings of the war. I was in my hotel room in Tiberius watching the news and I could not believe what I was hearing – that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had ceased and Hamas was launching rockets into southern Israel.
I was wondering if our tour to Jerusalem would be affected. Thankfully, no, and we were able to experience an amazing Jerusalem.
Yes, I know that might have sounded selfish, but seriously, I didn’t have a clue how serious the incidents were! Which also goes to show that when you are travelling, a lot of times, you get cut off from the traditional news and also new media and hence you don’t get updated on info, which goes to show how much we rely on the media for info and hpw the media often shapes our worldviews (ok, so i digress…)
I thought all was well..I mean no news is good news, right?
A few days after we got back from Israel, I watched the news and heard that war had broken out. Such is the fragile peace in that region.
Besides ‘conventional’ warfare (well, frankly, there should be nothing conventional about warfare!) both sides are fighting it out using new media. Propagangda is being propagated via Youtube!
The Israel government even has a Youtube channel that shows footage of bombings of Hamas military sites. They do this to counter the rumours circulating that they are targeting civilian sites. I am not featuring any videos by the Israelis or the Hamas here but a quick check on Youtube will show you the multiple videos that have been uploaded officially as well as unofficially.
The war is also taking place in the blogosphere as bloggers slug it out in a war of words and persuasion.
A few weeks ago, I talked about Obama’s Youtube communications method, as well as touched on the local government announcing its wish to engage more, especially the young, via new media.
Earlier this month, the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMs) presented its report on Internet regulations, with recommendations made for laws on political videos and online election material to be relaxed.
Young PAP Chairman, Teo Ser Luck, together with his deputies will be looking into this.
What can they do to embrace and employ new media? How could they be successful? Would they be successful? What do you think?
A couple of posts ago, I blogged about Obama’s clever use of new media and how that’s helped him to win the recent US Presidential elections. In fact, he’s come to be known as the Youtube President!
Not surprisingly then, that Obama has chosen to stay on the Youtube course and use it to broadcast his weekly address to the American public (actually, he now has the potential to address an international audience as well).
Obama is giving what is known as the traditional weekly radio broadcast by US Presidents, a tradition started by Roosevelt, a modern-day twist. Back then, and since then, the ‘fireside chats’ of the various Presidents have been broadcast on radio. Now, with new media, Obama has found an added channel to reach out to the public, especially the younger set that forms the Youtube and Facebook generation.
What’s also interesting is that by going direct to Youtube, the Obama administration has greater control over what is broadcast. According to the Straits Times article on Obama’s online chats, Obama and his people could “would curb the power of a traditional but often unpopular middleman between presidents and the populace: the mainstream media”. This means that the public get a dose of Obama unadulterated and unmediated (as much as non-mediation via media is allowed). Doing this would also make Obama’s government “more transparent“.
Obama’s first Youtube address after he won the elections is available on his website: www.change.gov. Subsequent addresses can also be viewed there.
In fact, this website has proved to be a source of information on Obama and the directions he’s taking as the President-elect.
And with Youtube videos being so embed-able, his address would be seen by so many more, due to the viral nature of ‘marketing’ on new media.
Now, I’ve mentioned previously as well that our local political groups could also learn something from the Obama campaign and its use of new media. Just yesterday, there was news that PAP is aiming to click with the young by letting the IT-savvy watch short videos of PAP MPs at events on its revamped PAP website.
Party chairman Lim Boon Heng said, “New media is facilitating change. Our party is gearing up our resources to harness this new platform.” In fact, on the Young PAP website, there are articles on new media and its social impact.
Now, while it’s good and timely for our local political parties to incorporate the use of new media, I believe more must be done than just posting videos of MPs at events. More could be done to harness the power of new media to reach out to the public and allow for the age of participation and a new generation of digital natives. Perhaps the digital natives out there would like to share how better engagement could be achieved via new media.
Obama has won the US Presidential elections, and will be stepping into the White House and Oval Office come January.
Many have seen his success at the elections last week to be very much tied up with his strong presence online, especially with the use of new media. Many have discussed Obama’s Youtube and Facebook win, and how he’s used new media to reach out to the masses, especially the younger voters, and made an emotional connection with them (via technology!). In a post I made months back, his win was already on the cards, given Obama’s Facebook domination!
Many see the Internet as a great equaliser, as anyone can use it, and most of its apps are virtually free (pun intended), and in Obama’s case, it has been an equaliser in his fight for votes.
From being a relative unknown, he’s now catapulted to being one of the most powerful men (if not, potentially, the most powerful man) in the world! For many, that signifies the American dream. That also signifies democracy. Beyond that, that also signifies the power of new media.
And for the many who were not allowed to vote (apparently, many non-Americans wanted to!), they could get into the action online as well. There were many online polls that allowed participation by all (isn’t that just what Web 2.0 is about – the Age of Participation)! Even WordPress had its own virtual poll. So did Facebook and other online sites! Even my Fluff pet on Facebook could take part in the polls, and be voted for!
Not surprising, Obama won in those polls too, and the online poll figures do closely match the actual results. So, in a way, we can see the online world as a microcosm of the real world.
New media featured in a pretty big way at the recent National Day rally.
PM Lee Hsien Loong, in his National Day Rally 2008, amongst other things, highlighted the need to use new media and to use it meaningfully and responsibly.
He talked about the need to prepare our people to cope with and manage the use of new media. He also highlighted the websites of McCain and Obama. In an earlier post, I talked about how Obama was winning the Facebook war! If Facebook popularity is anything to go by, Obama would win the US Presidential election! When you do a simple Google search, you will see a long list of websites and blogs devoted to the charismatic contender.
During the rally, he also demonstrated use of new media when he used his Nokia phone (product placement!!) to do a video capture and live video streaming to the Prime Minister’s Office website.
Also, new media has been used increasingly by government bodies to connect with the masses. For example, the feedback unit, Reach, is getting more feedback ever since using new media on its website. Already, netizens were engaging the MPs in a webchat on the Rally issues!
Of course, there would be need to handle these and manage the use of new media responsibly, and I do hope that Singaporeans and the local blogosphere is mature enough to handle it. What do you think?
In earlier posts, I’d talked about how politicians have been jumping on the new media wagon and exploiting it to get a feel of the ground and further their popularity. For instance, there was a Facebook standoff between Hillary, Obama and McCain some months back.
The politicians in neighbouring Malaysia have also realised the impact of new media, and the ruling party has taken an about turn on its view on new media. From disregarding it, they are now encouraging party members to keep blogs. Of course, by now, everyone has probably heard of and/or read Mahathir’s blog.
In Singapore, our local politicians have also started to use new media to reach out to the public. First there was George Yeo who was the face of PAP’s new media user, who blogged about his experiences. Now, more and more of the PAP’s members have started to adopt new media as part of their communications strategy. Teo Ser Luck is on Facebook and Vivian Balakhrishnan keeps his own blog.
According to the Today article, PAP MP Lam Pin Min (Ang Mio Kio GRC) said that, “The power of the Internet as a political tool must not be underestimated as demonstrated by the experience of the recent elections in our neighbouring countries. The party understands this and takes the feedback from netizens very seriously.”
Of course, new media shouldn’t just be used for the sake of using it. To be meaningful, it should serve as a platform for open discussion and feedback, and not a channel for propaganda.
Well, do share your thoughts about what you hope to see being used and done in new media by our local politicians.
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