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Twitter As a Campaigning Tool

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the smtp-aint-sexy-no-more dept.

labourstart writes "Meetup.com wasn't designed to help presidential candidates and Twitter wasn't supposed to be a campaigning tool. But LabourStart's Eric Lee argues that Twitter may be just what unions and other campaigning organizations have been looking for — a way to cut through the background noise and reach their members."

12 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. A tool I can't use by stoolpigeon · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've never used twitter. But I keep seeing so much about it - a comic at Penny Arcade, articles, political events and such. So I thought I'd check it out. Went over to sign up and was told that it was under heavy load and to come back later. (Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again.) I've tried a few times in the last week or two. Looks like that thing is suffocating under its own weight.

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    1. Re:A tool I can't use by edwebdev · · Score: 3, Insightful

      On the rosier side (for Twitter), overdemand means that the service is popular to the extent that its original hardware can't keep up. This problem can be solved simply by hardware improvements. Twitter would be far less usable and less valuable if nobody wanted to use it.

    2. Re:A tool I can't use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      You twitter and waste the hours in an offhand way. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.

  2. Useful? by dintech · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If it's to be a really great campaign tool, then surely it should be something that a large percentage of the population use. I don't think that's Twitter somehow.

  3. The big joke is... by tjstork · · Score: 5, Informative

    That, these guys are basically sending out junk mail too. They want to send out more messages like - "Oh give us money, and we will save you".. just like everyone else on the planet.

    I swear, we could make a bunch of ELIZA - like bots that would replace 99% of the political activity web sites for all political persuasions...

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  4. OMG, theyve invented Usenet by Gothmolly · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So if I understand this right, its a sort of forum where people with similar ideas can communicate and contribute?

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    1. Re:OMG, theyve invented Usenet by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 5, Insightful

      >USENET doesn't have a 160 character limit.

      Just think how much better and more readable some newsgroups would be if it did.
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      Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
    2. Re:OMG, theyve invented Usenet by Hillgiant · · Score: 3, Funny

      >>USENET doesn't have a 160 character limit.
      >Just think how much better and more readable some newsgroups would be if it did.

      I totally agree.
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      -
  5. Finally! by edwebdev · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm getting so tired of having to read detailed documents that describe a candidate's position on complex and important issues. A distillation of once-meaningful information into painless and catchy sound bites is just what the doctor ordered.

    1. Re:Finally! by Jason+Levine · · Score: 5, Funny

      Exactly. If you find yourself unable to express your political views on a subject in 140 characters or less then you should not be allowed t

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  6. From TFA by dwayner79 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Hillary Clinton campaign began sending out 'tweets' and eventually had over 4,000 followers. The Barack Obama campaign did the same thing and got 44,000 followers. That says something about the success of the two campaigns in using new technology.

    Perhaps that says something about the age of the people supporting either campaign. How many 40yo stay at home moms are getting tweets?

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    Religion and politics, without the flame. godgab.org
    1. Re:From TFA by The+End+Of+Days · · Score: 5, Insightful

      About 4000