Media on Media

Early in the evening last night I was sitting at the kitchen table working on some schoolwork.  I decided to turn on the television in the living room behind me.  I raised the volume enough to the point where I could focus on my work, yet listen for pertinent election results.  My attention piqued as I heard one of the news anchors make a comment as to the fact that, “election-related Tweets are soaring”.  As I continued to listen statistics were offered stating the number of Tweets that had been made.  The comment that struck me most, however, was this: “social media plays a major role in the campaign” – “it allows people to peek into the lives of others”: a very interesting observation, and in my opinion, a direct result of media convergence. 

How much of an edge do you think the presidential candidates gain from having a ‘birds eye’ view into the lives of their potential constituents?  Do you think Twitter can be helpful or detrimental to their campaigns?

I think Twitter has added a whole new dimension to the role of social media in politics.  It serves both the user and the producer (produser).  The expeditious nature of reaching a mass audience adds an advantage to (in this case) the campaigner, and also aids the campaigner in his/her ability to monitor on-going feedback from his potential constituents.  The people (future/potential constituents) are afforded the luxury of contributing to the communication loop through immediate feedback.  Both elements lend to allowing constant flux and change through the process of exchange.  In my opinion, Twitter has given media convergence added momentum in creating a warp-speed feedback loop.  It should be interesting to see the future effects of Twitter as the immediacy of digital communication continues to evolve and factor into our lives.