One of the reasons New Media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are both powerful and useful, is because it allows public figures to transparently and effectively communicate with the grassroots, engaged voters of a given state or district. Still, far too many candidates do not understand its true power, and turn these tools into one sided, vapid, ignorable fluff.
It’s really great to know that somebody running for governor is eating a hot dog at a state fair, but in the end that isn’t why you create a visible presence in this space. If that is how you use the technologies at hand, you are essentially driving a Ferrari 25 miles an hour through a school zone with speed bumps.
Some people have shown a clear understanding of the true power of these emerging communication platforms. Not only do they engage with the community in question, but they do so in an innovative way, do so bravely with known hostile audiences, and are able to pivot that into credibility and respect, possibly earning some attention and media coverage in the process.
The past 24 hours has shown us a great example of this.
On the evening of October 19th, Chris Kast, a resident of Portland, sent out a message on Twitter to Republican Matt Jacobson, asking him for his thoughts on the people’s veto of the equal marriage bill. Less than a day went by with no answer – something that was apparently outrageous and worthy of scorn to Mr. Kast, and he started to harass Jacobson about getting an answer. Obviously some people need to be reminded that many people – especially people with full time jobs who are running for governor – aren’t on Twitter 24/7 to check their @ message replies.
Most politicians on Twitter would have been well aware of where this was going – people don’t ask you questions like that unless they are looking to pick a fight with you. I suspect Mr. Kast was assuming Jacobson would ignore him, and then continue to harass him about not answering in an attempt to portray him as “hiding from voters”, or what have you.
But, Jacobson it seems is prepared to actually use the technology. He stuck his head into the mouth of the beast, knowing he would probably get flamed for it, and actually answered Kast’s question. No dodge, no dance – came right out and not only gave his answer, but tried to give some background on why.
@alexsteed @kastc – I will vote Yes on 1. The current law does not adequately protect the rights of everyone.
He then pointed out the issue was far to complex to give a detailed rationalization to in 140 characters (which, of course, it is – no matter WHICH side of the issue you are on), and then went the extra mile, offering to actually meet with Kast to explain his thoughts.
@kastc way too complex for 140 characters. I am happy to meet to discuss.
I don’t know about you, but if I was interested in dialogue on a subject, I would very much appreciate a gubernatorial candidate not only answering my question with no b.s., but actually offering to maybe go have coffee and talk about it. That, my friends, is the extra mile. I’d have taken him up on it right away.
No one was actually interested in having a rational dialogue about the issue last night, however. As though Jacobson had just kicked their dogs, a dozen or so irrationally angry Twitter users spammed the living hell out of Jacobson, in retribution for the sin of not agreeing with them on Question 1. Take a gander yourself – as if any single person could (or should even bother) respond to everyone making snarky, reactionary, emotional, and often times down right mean in any meaningful kind of way.
Rather than ignore the community – the hostile community I might add – like most would have done, Jacobson once again reached out to most of the people who had just angrily flamed him, and *gasp*, he answered their calls for a more detailed explanation of the basis of his position. He linked to his interview with yours truly, in which he extensively talked about the reasons behind his support for the veto.
@amycasey @burnsy06 @rachyrach @drougnor RT @kastc From and interview 8/4/9, lots of detail on my position: http://www.pinetreepolitics.com/2009/08/04/interview-with-matt-jacobson/
Now, I’m sorry – but I think some of the qualities we should ALL be looking for in a public official at any level were on display here – straightforwardness, composure, transparency, respectful and thoughtful engagement with the opposition, and in the end, detailed explanations of the basis of one’s opinion.
Just because you passionately believe in one side of an issue doesn’t suddenly give you the right to engage in hate flaming. Sadly, this is one of the eternal problems with the internet culture.
None the less, Jacobson just demonstrated all of the qualities that we all say we want in a leader – namely that you are open, you explain yourself, and even if you don’t agree with me, you treat me with respect and tell me why. Shame so many people couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
However, that lesson was not lost on everyone.
Mike Desjardins – a very thoughtful, firm supporter of the equal marriage legislation, and of course an opponent to the veto – saw value in what Jacobson did:
I do salute his bravery for participating in such a public forum, and I sincerely hope the recent brouhaha over Question 1 in his twitter stream doesn’t discourage him from continuing to participate. We need more politicians to share their thoughts and opinions as openly as he has, and I hope the other Maine candidates for governor follow his lead; there are other members of the Maine gubernatorial race with twitter accounts, but his stands out for its level of interaction with his followers, and more interaction is a good thing.
Desjardins had just finished up arguing that Jacobson was wrong, but that he appreciated his candor and participation. He also explained that while he rarely votes Republican, Jacobson was his favorite candidate from the GOP – partly because of his history of job creation, and partly because of what he described as “bravery” for his outreach in social media.
It seems that Jacobson didn’t stop there. Apparently he got wind of Desjardins’ post, and actually called him up to chat about the whole thing:
Just had a nice phone chat with @Jacobson4Gov – pleasantly surprised to hear from you in person!
Now, lets be clear – I doubt that Desjardins will end up voting for Jacobson, given what he has self described as his voting history. As Jacobson read that, he likely has come to the same conclusion – but he called him anyway.
And thus, ladies and gentlemen is the lesson. Many politicians are afraid to engage with the community at large – especially opponents – because they don’t want to generate any kind of negative response or controversy.
Jacobson, on the other hand, realized that for 99% of us – those of us who are looking for the big picture, can support somebody we don’t agree with 100% on everything so long as we trust the person as an honest, thoughtful, respectful leader – his effort to reach out, be transparent, and truly engage the community actually matters.
This is a wonderful example of exactly how to properly use New Media – specifically Twitter in this case – to conduct a campaign. Don’t make it one way communication. Don’t hide from voters. Don’t b.s. us. Do reach out. Do communicate, even to those who disagree with you. And do go the extra mile when you know that it probably won’t help you at all in the end – because not only will it demonstrate you are serious about respecting those who disagree with you – something we could use a lot more of in government, but in the end, you just might get some decent earned media from the blogosphere if somebody picks up on your activities.
So kudos – I hope to see the other candidates (especially the Republicans) follow suit and really engage with the community, whoever it may be.
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