Politicians using New Media to Communicate With the Public

We are without a doubt fully in the information age.  We want news and we want it now.  We don’t want to wait for a monthly neighborhood meeting or a quarterly newsletter to stay informed.

Missouri’s junior Senator, Claire McCaskill, does an amazing job of using new media techniques.  On March 3rd she posted on Twitter:

“Those naysayers bout twitter don’t get it. It’s all about communication. Communication is always a good thing especially in my job.”

Agreed, communication is important.  Regardless of your political ideology, you have to agree it is good for our elected officials at all levels to communicate with us — letting us know what they are working on and what issues they are mulling.  With new technology it is even easier to communicate.  For the public we have many ways of receiving this new media information.

McCaskill has a very nice and informative Senate website.  But most websites, like McCaskill’s official Senate version, requires the reader to go to it and seek out info.  Fine for those times when you are seeking specific information but horrible for frequent updates.  The solution is to automatically get the info we want.

Enter the web feed:

A web feed (or news feed) is a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a web feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it. Making a collection of web feeds accessible in one spot is known as aggregation, which is performed by an Internet aggregator. A web feed is also sometimes referred to as a syndicated feed.

In the typical scenario of using web feeds, a content provider publishes a feed link on their site which end users can register with an aggregator program (also called a feed reader or a news reader) running on their own machines; doing this is usually as simple as dragging the link from the web browser to the aggregator. When instructed, the aggregator asks all the servers in its feed list if they have new content; if so, the aggregator either makes a note of the new content or downloads it. Aggregators can be scheduled to check for new content periodically. Web feeds are an example of pull technology, although they may appear to push content to the user.

The kinds of content delivered by a web feed are typically HTML (webpage content) or links to webpages and other kinds of digital media. Often when websites provide web feeds to notify users of content updates, they only include summaries in the web feed rather than the full content itself.

McCaskill has recently added a blog, which of course has a web feed.  She posts regularly to both Twitter and her new blog hosted by Tumblr.  Twitter also has a web feed so you need not be on Twitter to receive her tweets.  Updates are often posted from her BlackBerry.

These feeds can be read in a number of ways, via readers, browsers, your Google or Yahoo homepage, etc.

Some have the belief you need a budget and staff to do so.  Money and people can help but they are not a necessity.  The other issue is the false belief that the population is not online. Such was the case of former Alderman and recent candidate Sharon Tyus. In response to my question about a campaign website she wrote:

“I don’t plan to at this time maily because many of my constitutents are not online. When I was in office we had regular 20th Ward Meetings in which anywhere from 100 -400 people would attend. I also did a yearly newpaper, direct calls and written letters and attended the police and block unit meetings. Also those who used the email found that was the best way to contact me since I check my email early morning most days. I have not had a problem interacting with the press and or interested citizens. If they phone me at the office or home and leave a message or , write and/or email me, I respond appropriately. My ward meetings were often published in the press and were announced at the end of the Board of Alderman’s meetings. They wee open to the public as well as the press. The press came on several ocassions.”

So they can email but they are not online?  Seems to me you need to be online to send an email.

Four out of five U.S. adults go online now, according to a new Harris Poll.

The survey, which polled 2,062 adults in July and October, found that 79 percent of adults — about 178 million — go online, spending an average 11 hours a week on the Internet.

“We’re up to almost 80 of adults who now are online, or are somehow gaining access to the Internet. That’s a pretty impressive figure,” said Regina Corso, director of the Harris Poll.

The results reflect a steady rise since 2000, when 57 percent of adults polled said they went online. In 2006, the number was 77 percent. (source)

Tyus didn’t win, perhaps had she used the internet to help reach more voters… It is true that a fewer percentage of blacks are online, but the numbers are increasing.

The sharpest growth in Internet access and use is among young people. But blacks and other members of minorities of various ages are also merging onto the digital information highway as never before. According to a Pew national survey of people 18 and older, completed in February, 74 percent of whites go online, 61 percent of African-Americans do and 80 percent of English-speaking Hispanic-Americans report using the Internet. The survey did not look at non-English-speaking Hispanics, who some experts believe are not gaining access to the Internet in large numbers. In a similar Pew survey in 1998, just 42 percent of white American adults said they used the Internet while only 23 percent of African-American adults did so. Forty percent of English-speaking Hispanic-Americans said they used the Internet.(source)

Our politicians have got to stop presuming that their audience is not a part of the 21st century.

In the 23rd ward all seven candidates for Alderman had websites.  Two March winners, Antonio French in the 21st Ward and Shane Cohn in the 25th Ward, used blog-based websites (chronological posts with feeds) and the social networking site Facebook.

In the time it takes to talk to one constituent in the phone a politician can reach hundreds or more.  So here is some easy no-cost or low-cost ways for other elected officials to start communicating electronically in addition to face-to-face at meetings.

Email lists:

Nearly everyone has an email address so this is still a good way to reach folks.  Managing lists, however, can be a nightmare.  Setting up a free Yahoo or Google announcement group is the way to go.  Set the group up so that anyone can join, leaving the list management to Yahoo or Google.  Publicize the existence and watch the number of members grow as regular emails are sent to the group.  One email per week is a good number.

Website or Blog?

A blog is a special form of a website.  While websites have traditionally been static and required specialized software to create and update, blogs make it east to add new information and archive old information.  Free blogs can be had from Google, WordPress or in the case of Claire McCaskill, Tumblr.  This last one is new to me.  It is very simple and is set up so it can be updated on the web, with a phone or using email.  Very smart & easy.

Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook is a good supplement to email lists and blogs but not everyone is on Facebook.  Like Facebook, not everyone is on Twitter.  Unlike Facebook, Twitter has a feed that people can subscribe to.  This can let someone use Twitter as a short form blog.  An entry might be, “Introducing bill on Friday to allow steet vendors city-wide.”  Another could be, “Hearing on BB56 on street vendors Thurday at 10am in Room 208.”  Twitter tweets are limited to 140 characters so it doesn’t take much time.   Both Facebook & Twitter give you the code to place your updates on your blog — see my sidebar on my main page as an example.

I urge current and future elercted officials to see the importance of keeping the public informed about their work on our behalf.