DeAnne
Mike Crowlpoliticians on Facebook
May 25th 2008 07:53
Politicians in the up and coming New Zealand elections are using Facebook and other social networking sites to promote their policies and image.
And in the race for Prime Minister, John Key, the current opposition leader, is doing better than Prime Minister Helen Clark - at least as far as Facebook is concerned.
Mr Key said the potential of social networking sites such as Facebook was important, and that because it's a thriving and rapidly growing community, a lot of people using the site are interested in politics. His aim is to reach out this group. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister claimed that the reason Key was more popular on Facebook is because his pages are maintained by paid staff who can recruit others, whereas the PM's page was maintained by supporters and volunteers.
Key confirmed that one of his communication staff monitored his social networking sites, which include not only Facebook but also YouTube and Flickr. He sees using these sites as a great way of taking 'our message to Kiwis living overseas.'
Key's Facebook page was begun in mid-February, and by Saturday the 24th, he'd attracted 3302 supporters. The Prime Minister, by contrast, has only gathered 1164, even though her page was started some six months ago.
And in the race for Prime Minister, John Key, the current opposition leader, is doing better than Prime Minister Helen Clark - at least as far as Facebook is concerned.
Mr Key said the potential of social networking sites such as Facebook was important, and that because it's a thriving and rapidly growing community, a lot of people using the site are interested in politics. His aim is to reach out this group. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister claimed that the reason Key was more popular on Facebook is because his pages are maintained by paid staff who can recruit others, whereas the PM's page was maintained by supporters and volunteers.
Key confirmed that one of his communication staff monitored his social networking sites, which include not only Facebook but also YouTube and Flickr. He sees using these sites as a great way of taking 'our message to Kiwis living overseas.'
Key's Facebook page was begun in mid-February, and by Saturday the 24th, he'd attracted 3302 supporters. The Prime Minister, by contrast, has only gathered 1164, even though her page was started some six months ago.
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