Social media no vote changer

Greg Barber, the unofficial leader of the Victorian Greens, swears social networking has been the "strategic equaliser" of the state election campaign.

This article talks about how many candidates used Twitter and Facebook to appear more modern to voters as well as have a platform to attack their opponents. They have used Twitter primarily for up to date commentary on their campaigns.

While it is admitted that these social media sites will be viewed and discussed frequently, experts say when it comes down to actually influencing voting trends social media makes no difference. People like to use these websites to stay informed of the gossip going around about campaigns, but apparently don't actually take all of the information as true.

I was actually happy to hear this because a lot of the information we see posted on Facebook and Twitter is not actually true. It is a good source to get information but you need to make sure where the sources are getting their information to see if it's actually accurate or not. Are the experts right or wrong? Does social media actually influence voting trends?

Governments Benefit From Embracing New Technologies To Engage With Citizens

According to author Kelly Dempski, "Governments around the world must continue to embrace social media and other new technologies because besides empowering citizens new technologies bring in a "myriad of benefits" for the public sector as well."

In today's world, public service organizations are using social media, mobile computing, cloud computing, and web services to interact with people. This is a much more cost effective way, as well as more transparent and easier to relay information back and forth.

Recovery.gov is a website that allows people to track spending and improving economic outcomes of the American Recover and Reinvestment Act, which is supposed to create new jobs and save existing jobs, spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth; and foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

I think this is a pretty cool idea, I like that these organizations are using the internet and tools that the common person uses daily to provide us with important, up-to-date information. I think the public should be able to access and track where the money we pay out is going. Any thoughts?

Twitter Is Destroying Press Criticism

"Twitter's 140-character blasts aren't bringing down the newspapers. They're just turning journalists into sniggering cheap-shot artists." Or so according to an article by Ben Crair in The Daily Beast. He goes on to say that Twitter is undermining the art of journalism. He said press criticism is the type of journalism being most affected since every journalist posting on Twitter is acting as though they are a press critic and giving the real ones a bad name.

I'm not so sure I agree with this statement....I think true journalists are still able to find ways to showcase their true talent without worrying about Twitter. What do you guys think, is Twitter undermining the art of journalism?

Georgia city urged to use social media responsibly

The Moultrie Observer, in Moultrie Georgia published an article today highlighting the use of social media, mainly Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, by city employees. Mike Scott, the city manager, added an amendment to human resources department policy pertaining to this matter. He explained it is now policy for employees to watch what they say and post on their personal social media websites.

Scott stated, “It is the policy of the City of Moultrie that employees may use social media technologies,” according to the policy. “However, it is the responsibility of employees to ensure that such use does not cause a decline in public confidence in and/or respect for the city or the individual employee. Employees must exercise appropriate discretion, so as to not discredit the city or themselves as employees.”

Very interesting to me that this even needs to be an amendment added to a human resource policy for a city. I guess it proves the power of the Internet and social media in our times. The main concern being once something is put out there, there's no taking it back...and they don't want any bad reflections on the city. What do you guys think about it?

Text the AJC for Unusual Situations at the Polls Today

Not really much of a story but a quick side note I noticed on the ajc.com homepage today. They're telling everyone to text them if they feel they have seen any "unusual situation" occurring at the voting polls today. Personally, I think this the idea of everyone expecting there to be problems at the polls is making people specifically look for reasons to complain about it. Just my thoughts, thought I'd share.

And just in case any of you need to text them the number is 404-890-0252.