Talk:Social media

Jim DeMint and social media

Jim DeMint is one of the few solid guys in Washington D.C. DeMint has 93,000 Twitter fans.[1] Jim DeMint's Facebook page has 137,000 plus likes.[2] DeMint is one of the most active Republicans on social media and definitely one of the most staunchly conservative Republicans. I don't see any evidence of him losing any credibility due to his use of social media. My guess is that he has staff help manage his social media accounts. conservative 15:13, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

Also, my guess is that DeMint uses his Facebook account to raise funds (he has a give tab on his Facebook account) and to help rally and communicate with his followers. conservative 15:32, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

Newt Gingrich and social media

I am not a big fan of Newt Gingrich, but he does say quite a few things I agree with. Newt Gingrich has over 1,300,000 Twitter followers.[3] Newt Gingrich's Facebook page has over 138,000 likes.[4] conservative 15:18, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

Both good points, Conservative. I think the important difference is between a public figure who maintains an account on these sites and a person who wastes a lot of time doing nothing worthwhile on those same sites. For Gingrich or DeMint, a facebook or twitter page is an important publicity tool, but I doubt either of them spends much time on them - as you say, they no doubt have a staff to help them with that kind of thing Jcw 15:31, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

One more example, I don't agree with Gerald Celente on everything and I thought he went out on a limb in 2010 regarding a financial collapse and underestimated the degree to which the Federal Reserve can and will jury-rig the financial system through the use of short term measures that harm the long term economic health of the U.S. But nonetheless, there are a lot of members of the right and left media who do have respect for the guy because he does have a great track record as far as trend forecasting. You can certainly disagree with Celente on various points, but it is hard to make the case that he is not a serious guy given his track record at trend forecasting. Celente has over 11,000 Twitter followers.[5] I do think that social media can be used to raise cash for politicians and gain publicity. conservative 16:02, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

One more thing, I don't know how successful Facebook is at raising cash for politicians, but in May of 2009, it appears Facebook was merely a way to augment fundraising for non-profits and inferior to other methods.[6] I am guessing things have not changed, but this is only a hunch. On the other hand, Obama has over 21,000,000 likes on his Facebook page plus he has a donate button. As much as I disagree with Obama's fiscal policies, senseless wars and social policies, I have to believe he is raising cash at Facebook. conservative 16:20, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

Scott Brown and social media

I have never been a big fan of the Republican politician Scott Brown in terms of all his policies which is not surprising as Massachusetts Republicans are more liberal.[7] Nevertheless, he was the lesser of two evils and I am glad he beat the Democrat. More to the point, he did manage to win an election and in January 0f 2010 it has reported he had over 140,000 Facebook supporters.[8] Given the younger generations growing influence as the baby boomers, Silent Generation and Greatest Generation age and pass on, I don't think politicians can ignore social networking websites. conservative 16:07, 5 June 2011 (EDT)

Reply to the above

Those are interesting observations about a few politicians. I don't think any of them, however, have embraced Facebook as their primary platform as much as Obama and Palin have. Also, note that the long-term effects of the above efforts are not contrary to what the entry suggests: DeMint has not run for president, Gingrich is running but is struggling to gain credibility, and Brown's popularity may have been short-term, just as the entry observes.--Andy Schlafly 19:49, 5 June 2011 (EDT)