Federal Election goes 2.0
Federal Election goes 2.0
September/October Edition, 2007: Information and communication technology is shaping up to be a major player in the upcoming US elections, but can we expect the same ingenuity from our own politicians? Or are we still stuck with a parliament of technology troglodytes, struggling to keep a finger on the nation’s digital pulse?
The Howard Government’s ICT credentials have taken a battering of late. The broadband issue is continuing its run as a political football, the future of the Access Card has again been thrown into doubt and most recently the Government’s shiny new NetAlert porn filtration software was defeated by a teenager in 30 minutes.
Indeed, just looking at our broadband infrastructure and the Government’s repeated attempts to squeak by with band-aid solutions (such as Hibis, Broadband Connect and the Metropolitan Broadband Blackspots Program) the idea of our politicians being completely disconnected from (virtual) reality and subsequently being unable to speak to a significant portion of voters looks all the more likely.
So with an Australian Federal election on the cards for November this year (due to the Howard Government’s rumoured ad booking schedule), the question is: Are our pollies making use of the substantial tools modern ICT affords them, or are they sticking (and being left behind) with the tools of yesterday to get the message across?
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) recently took a look at how many of our leaders are embracing new ICT technologies to connect with constituents, but despite valiant efforts by high-profile pollies such as Malcom Turnbull, Joe Hockey and Kevin Rudd, it found on the whole many Australian politicians are overlooking technology in this year’s Federal election.
New Tools of the Trade
When it comes to the technology and services being used, a number of politicians have launched profiles on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, while using video sharing site, YouTube in a game of one-upmanship by the Liberal party, Labor and the Greens.
MySpace and Facebook enable pollies to get in touch with their inner post information about themselves, their interests, photos, videos, timely blogs and even songs they like to get them closer to their constituents and have themselves a little more humanised.
YouTube on the other hand, enables pollies to post campaign speeches, make announcements and respond in-depth and in-person to issues and questions raised by other pollies or members of the public.
But despite some making reasonable showings on the three mediums, the AIIA says overall Australian politicians have been fairly slow to take advantage of new technologies, especially when compared to US politicians.
“On one hand we have the Clintons posting a Sopranos-style satire and Barack Obama TV on YouTube grabbing international headlines, and until [mid July] the best Australia has to offer is a few very tame blogs,” says Sheryle Moon, the AIIA’s Chief Executive Officer.
While Labor, Liberal and Greens politicians have since increased their online efforts, much of what the AIIA found after reviewing the online impact of their contributions back in July remains. Moon believes that even the most common technologies that could be used by politicians to connect with their electorates, are not being used.
“This is surprising given this will be a make-or-break election for both sides of politics. If we are to continue calling Australia the clever country it’s time politicians lead by example,” says Moon.
MySpace, Facebook and YouTube are also being touted as potent places for pollies to communicate with the younger generation of voters who may no longer be reached through mainstream channels such as radio, print and television. But just setting up shop at the right place isn’t necessarily enough. As always on the Internet – Content is King. Highlighting this, Moon congratulated Ministers Turnbull and Hockey alongside key Opposition spokespeople such as Ministers Rudd, Gillard, Garrett, Swan and Conroy for cultivating strong online presences.
“Ministers Turnbull and Hockey lead the pack with friendly, interactive sites and tongue-in-cheek blogs. With this approach they would be naturals in MySpace and the increasingly popular Second Life,” she says.
The Opposition’s environmental spokesperson, Peter Garret, also scored highly on the AIIA scale, as does Prime Minister Howard, despite being resoundingly trumped on the MySpace front by Opposition leader Kevin Rudd.
The AIIA also notes that despite the ICT industry being her forte, Senator Helen Coonan has a surprisingly weak online presence with a website, but no blog, Second Life avatar or Myspace and just the one YouTube posting to date.
“Senator Coonan has only a modest presence despite ICT being in her bailiwick – our members would welcome the opportunity to enhance her online influence,” says Moon.
Power to the People
While new technologies offer new means for hitting the campaign trail, they also come with new risks to those who try to play with them using old methods. Online campaigning is shallow at best without inviting interactivity and feedback from the audience – a risky public relations venture for those trying to nurse their public profile.
John Howard has made many enemies in his 11 years as PM for example, while if you go by newspaper polls, Kevin Rudd has substantially more preferable public opinion in his favour. This can make online discussion a risky proposition for the Federal Government, but far less so for the Opposition, leaving some pollies looking decidedly wary about online electioneering just as others are quick to embrace it.
“It’s good to see some of our pollies entering a new arena, while others are sticking with what they know, which is a shame,” notes Moon. “The beauty of these new technologies is their power to inject real energy into electioneering. There’s plenty of scope for humour, creativity, impassioned debate and originality. And let’s face it – couldn’t we all do with a little of that?”
Indeed. With his slick MySpace, Facebook, savvy use of YouTube and his snazzy Kevin’07 website tying it all together, Kevin Rudd’s deployment of these new online tools has given his campaign an obvious boost of energy, and simultaneously prompted some commentators to advise John Howard to either do it well, or not bother at all.
Rudd’s YouTube efforts for example, have already far surpassed the Prime Minister’s, with over 30 videos posted and a large number of comments on each. Howard is currently sitting at 5 videos, the first of which focused on climate change and drew an immediate and prolonged flood of abuse and spam messages that were later deleted. His second, regarding the Federal Government taking control of the hospital in Tasmania, had comments locked.
While losing points on community interaction, the Liberals also got off to a rocky start by failing to take advantage of what YouTube is best at: viral marketing. Following the PM’s climate change announcement, Labor immediately posted an ad on its website depicting Howard in bed, under the covers and asleep on climate change for the last 11 years. The Greens then took this one step further back on YouTube and posted a short video of both Howard and Rudd between the sheets coal miners, putting an end to that brief skirmish.
What these examples show is how Rudd and the Greens have openly embraced online campaigning with its warts, leaving Howard inundated by accusations that he is trying to control the message rather than engage his audience.
That said, with online lives being outsourced in increasing numbers, one’s imagination doesn’t need much stretching to realise in most cases, the pollies themselves aren’t tending their avatars and blogs, but rather the PR machine is. Rudd already has a team of spin doctors coordinating his online persona and compared to the online Liberal campaign, the consistency shows.
Happier Tax Payers?
Other than being the electioneering zeitgeist, online campaigning could also prove considerably cheaper than the traditional channels used to get the message out - even with a PR team on the job.
This is made particularly evident by recent revelations that the Federal Government will spend upwards of $100 million on the 18 campaigns it currently has running. These include $4.8 million on its 16 month National Security campaign and $4.1 million on six days worth of Workplace Relations advertising which, according to Labor MP John Faulkner, says a lot about the government’s priorities.
While the production behind the online campaign isn’t free, MPs and parties are not only free of publishing and distribution costs, then can put out as much detail about their plans, policies, and promises as they desire, and still reach vast swathes of voters both at home and abroad.
Image is everything. Those who embrace the power of social networking and understand new mediums such as YouTube may indeed get a boost come voting day, those who fail to “get it” could find themselves left behind with black and white TV and the eight track.
Online or off though, one thing that won’t disappear is hubris. This time around though, we’ll all be able to watch the political sideshow unfold on our myriad of electronic devices, and add our voices to more than just ballot papers and talkback radio.