College Public Policy

Posted by Katharina Derschewsky on 19 January 2010

Following my (almost) crazed obsession with anything that has social media in it, I found myself among people that the Independent frequently lists as Britain’s most influential bloggers and tweeters in Westminster’s Grand Committee last night. While actively adding to the event’s live twitter stream, I eagerly listened to what the panel had to say at the Henry Jackson Society and Delib’s rather provocatively chosen event heading “Technology, not policy, will win the 2010 election”. To pre-empt any speculation: The majority of people concluded that the UK’s Parties will still have to come up with a convincing manifesto. The role attributed to new technologies, then, was predominantly one of potential. Social media offers the potential to empower individuals, engage the electorate and enable a more pluralistic debate. Sure, but beyond a handful of obsessive political geeks, will people actually want to exploit these opportunities? Social media further offers the potential of direct communication with voters to keep politicians in touch with the reality of their voters. Sure, but considering how responsive politicians are to citizens’ needs right now, will they want to listen? Social media also offers the potential of lowering the entry barriers to public discourse and change the role of traditional gatekeepers such as journalists and public affairs consultants. Wait a minute…will we have to safeguard our jobs?

Amidst all the potential that social media offers, a number of questions raised during the debate are certainly worth thinking about: Do we want the plebiscitary democracy that social media offers? Do we want the public to drive the political agenda? Do we want citizens to become involved in the complexities and trade-offs of policy making? Are we willing to give up control and let the horses run free in the largely self-directed world of social media?

While the upcoming election campaign will certainly be characterised by the role of social media (and some may argue it will provide for an interesting change after the dullness of previous years), there is little conviction that social media will actually impact on electoral outcomes or, in fact, change political processes. Despite all the Obama-hype, the money his online campaign generated was largely reinvested in traditional television advertising and Labour Twitter Tsar Kerry McCarthy’s attacks on the Tories’ machine-driven use of social media may indicate that the traditional battle of the Parties may merely be relocated to a new battlefield.

At the end of the day, I would have to agree with CCHQ’s new media expert, Rishi Saha who said that the 2010 General Election will merely create a vast body of evidence that academics and practitioners will happily draw on in any future debates on the role, use and impact of social media.

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