Social media is rapidly becoming an essential in politics. But Steve Noll, an instructor and expert on social media at Madison College, said Twitter and Facebook aren’t the place to check for serious analysis of politics. “A lot of people are turning to Facebook, and especially Twitter, for national events, and conveying information really almost more information and not for serious political discussions,” he said.
Noll expects that to be the case now that the national political conventions are upon us. Noll thinks politicians can use social media as a “rapid response” to their own gaffes, or misinformation being reported about them. “The can turn to social media to try to correct that information as quick as possible, before this domino effect potentially could escalate something out of control,” he said. “That’ the smart way to use social media in politics.”
Of course, many have staff who update their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. Noll said he’s a little concerned with that – and thinks those politicians may not understand just how powerful a tool social media can be.
