The next election campaign

Twitter appears to be flavour of the month at present, and last week the media made much of Labour's appointment of Kerry McCarthy MP as the so-called Twitter Czar. This is clearly inaccurate as the MP will be responsible for Labour's use in the run-up to the election to more than just Twitter, but makes nice headlines.

I think a more damning criticism is that it has taken Labour so long to appoint a senior politician to this role. Although Tom Watson has frequently played a key role, there is a sense that the Conservatives have stolen a march on Labour in cyberspace. Recognising the importance of e-campaigning, especially for a smaller party, in January Lynne Featherstone was appointed chair of the Liberal Democrat's Technology Board which has a fairly wide remit but clearly will be seeking to help her party utilise the Internet.

Talking to a number of back-room staff after the 2005 General Election one got a sense that the political big beasts had not fully signed up to the possibilities of the Internet. That the political parties have politicians in charge of online campaigning now is to be welcomed, not attacked. My suspicion is that a combination of factors included wider usage, generational factors among politicians and the example of Obama should encourage greater use of the Internet at the next election. The big question will be whether the Internet's time has come, or traditional mass media channels dominate election communciation.