Should Politicians be using social media sites?

“The use of social media […] is just as likely to strengthen authoritarian regimes as it is to weaken them.” (Shirky 2011).

Politicians: we see them everywhere, on the television, in newspapers and even on posters in the streets. While they have dominated traditional media, they are quickly moving their campaigns and expanding onto the internet. 

There have been many debates about this issue however; the most prevalent one is politicians creating false personas. Some politicians are using their Facebook and Twitter pages solely for campaigning and not connecting with their audience as they promised. 

I am completely against politicians using these sites as a form of advertising which is why I found it refreshing when I found a quote from the Mayor of Saint Louis in America, Francis Slay.

He said "(Social media) allows me to give my thoughts on events and the complete text of my speeches (which) mainstream media might not cover" (Slay 2009).

Unlike other politicians who use their Facebook pages for grandstanding and promoting themselves, Slay uses his correctly by connecting with his audience. I think it is important for society to see the real sides of politicians and be given the opportunity to talk to their government official personally.  

In Jessica Monks blog, "New Media Musings", she gives an example of how Australian Politicians are using social media. 

“Knowledge is power” (Bacon 1597) and the more you are able to find out about a politician, the better informed you will be about them and their policies.



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ABCNews. 2010. “Social Networking Is Revolutionising Politics.” YouTube video, posted July 22, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.http//:www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DtTTB-Njgk&feature=related

Bacon, Francis. 1597. “Novum Organum”, Part I, Aphorism III. Boston: Taggard & Thompson, 1863, volume VIII,p.67-68 . Accessed March 25, 2011.

Monk, Jessica. 2011. "Social Media and the Queensland Floods." In New Media Musings. Accessed March 26, 2011. http://jessicamonkkcb206.blogspot.com/

Shirky, Clay. 2011. “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change.” In Foreign Affairs, edited by Clay Shirky, 28- 41. Ipswich: MA. Accessed March 26,2011.http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?sid=c1df57a9-1ca1 adb7c7e88a0a5ff22d%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&id=19&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=56624549.

Slay, Francis. 2009. “Politicians Using Social Media To By-Pass Press Corps.” In Media Shift. Accessed March 25, 2011.http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/11/politicians-use-social-media-to-bypass-the-press-corps306.html

Are you going to pay for that?

(Stahler, 2009)

Thanks to the internet, music, movies and other forms of media from all around the world are easily accessed by the click of a button. In relation to the iPod, Steven Levy wrote in his book:

“all someone needs to do is scroll through your library on that click wheel, and, musically speaking, you’re naked.” 

(Levy, 2006)

Our music can say a lot about whom we are but where does all of it come from? Music piracy has become a major issue for the music industry and this has been contributed to the introduction of the internet. 

“From 2004 through 2009 alone, approximately 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded on file-sharing networks.” (RIAA, 2011)

This has led to the music industry losing a substantial amount of profit. We all think that we aren’t making much of an impact by illegally downloading music but every download has a consequence. 


Bollywood, however, has managed to overcome these challenges and have continued to reap profits from their merchandise. 

“ Industry insiders estimate that as much as 33% of Indian film companies' revenues are lost to piracy each year… Now, two major Bollywood studios aim to change that by making films directly available, via download.” (Singh, 2008)

By doing this they have managed to decrease the amount of pirated videos and increase profits. Should the music industry consider taking the same kind of action? 

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• Levy, S. (2006). The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 21-41. Accessed March 19, 2011. 
• RIAA. (2011). For Students Doing Reports: March 19^th, 2011. Accessed March 19, 2011. http://www.riaa.com/faq.php 
• Singh, M. (2008).  Bollywood's Viral Video in Time International (Canada Edition), Vol. 171, Issue 14. Accessed March, 2011. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1713342,00.html 
• Stahler. (2009). “ I’m a big fan. I’ve downloaded all your music files!”. Image. Accessed March 19, 2011. http://truefire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/downloadingcomic.jpg

Who are you when you’re on the internet?

“Online, users can claim to be whoever they wish.” (Pearson, 2009)

(Gutierrez, 2009)

In the physical world, one’s identity is formed by others perceptions/ observations and the reputation they have tried to create for themselves. The internet, however, allows people to change the very essence of who they are in order to satisfy their chosen audience.  This is most commonly accomplished by lying and creating false profiles on the internet.

Within this week’s reading, All the World Wide Web's a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks, Erica Pearson describes web users as:

“actors playing a role, they can deliberately choose to put forth identity cues or claims of self that can closely resemble or wildly differ from reality.”
(Pearson, 2009).

Pearson also uses two main metaphors (The Glass Bedroom and Front/Back Stage) when discussing internet users.

She argues that when users are creating their online profile, they are able to change who they are and be perceived in a completely different way.

Donathan and Boyds reading, Public Displays of Connection, also discusses the issue of creating false identities on the internet. They also argue that

“Identity deception is prevalent in the on-line world… On-line, identity is mutable” (Donathan & Boyd, 2004)

Both of these readings clearly examine the positive and negative aspects of creating an online persona.


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• Donath, J. and Boyd, d. (2004). Public displays of connection.   BT Technology Journal , volume 22 (4): 71-82.  Accessed March 12, 2011.
• Gutierrez, M. (2009). The Two Faces of Werro Flaco. Image. Accessed March 12, 2011. http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcgutierrez/3240567403/
• Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web's a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks . First Monday, volume 14, Number 3. Accessed March 12, 2011.