UnSpun

This article from Politico discusses how politicians (from both sides) have been utilizing social media and new technologies to inject some celebrity into their careers. I find this ok when the goal is a greater sense of connectivity with constituents or a dialogue about important issues, but disturbing when politicians are just looking for the spotlight. Politics is already enough of a popularity contest, which I think doesn’t need to be fueled by new media. But in our media-saturated culture, the potential spotlight just gets bigger and bigger. What’s a politician to do?

I’m sure that many politicians these days are following Obama’s lead when it comes to the media, but there are good and bad ways to make use of sites like YouTube and Twitter. Media can, and should, be a platform for issues, not a strategy for achieving celebrity status. Visibility can be very powerful, but you want to be visible for the right reasons. I think that Obama’s use of YouTube and the internet as a point of connectivity has been very effective, but it irks me to see the extensive tabloid gossip devoted to the entire presidential family. But that’s one of the eternal problems with the media: it’s usually not completely under your control. I think that politicians of all ranks will increasingly utilize social media, but whether not it’s an appropriate platform for politics remains to be seen.