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)

Here is an interesting article: Obama's online fundraising machine I think it is reasonable to believe that the social media websites drove some of that money to Obama's coffers. I don't Obama's Facebook outreach is going to be a cause of his political demise though and I don't think it has hurt him so far and it is rather the economy that has suppressed his favorability numbers. I also don't see Facebook hurting Jim DeMint. More importantly, for the last 30 years most American Presidents kept piling onto the Federal deficit. Obama is continuing that tradition and even more so than G.W. Bush. However, I think the effects of a growing US Federal deficit, the continuing deindustrialization of the US, the failed liberal education system and the rotting inner portions of many US cities is coming to a head and Obama is going to be left holding the bag in 2012 and not be re-elected due to a deteriorating economy. Furthermore, if there is a financial meltdown during Obama's term, I think he will be painted as a Herbert Hoover. conservative 02:59, 6 June 2011 (EDT)