GRANTED, IF you are a member of the opposition we know that you are against NAMA. But now we also know that it's a battle to make sure the hair doesn't take over as a talking point, as Joan Burton said in a Tweet, writes HARRY McGEEPolitical Staff
And we also know that there has been a: “Disjointed order of business. Lots of interruptions. Someone reading the paper,” as Paschal Donohoe Tweeted.
And we have been informed that a certain Cork senator is “on way in rain to Leinster House in between the puddles with no umbrella,” as Jerry Buttimer wrote.
And granted, too, when you are a member of Government you are in favour of NAMA. But it’s also important to know, “the Republic of Ireland soccer team will provide stiff opposition to anybody who comes to Dublin,” as Taoiseach Brian Cowen wrote.
Or for those who are interested: “I’m not going to the Court of Auditors. I’m not thought surplus to requirements here yet,” according to Dan Boyle.
And being Green also means following the boys in Green: “Guys, you played the beautiful game well and made us proud,” wrote Ciaran Cuffe.
Two events over the past 10 days have conspired to suggest that Irish politics has finally, fully, wholeheartedly embraced politics. For one, the Taoiseach has started a weekly video blog which is posted on the Fianna Fáil website. The production values are still a bit wedding video circa 1984, and Cowen looks a mite uncomfortable, but we can expect to see him sounding off on a regular basis.
The second was the exposure of the Dáil and Seanad Tweeters. Over the past year or so a growing number of TDs and Senators have started using Twitter, in which you tell the world, in 140 characters, what you are doing now. The pervasiveness of Twitter stems from the fact that you can easily send messages from your mobile phone – there is no need to power up a laptop.
The Tweeters were outed when it was found that some of them were sending out dispatches from the Dáil and the Seanad while they were in session.
The Green TD Ciaran Cuffe admitted as much this week on The Tubridy Show. A look at his site – with its many blog postings and its slick YouTube reports using video footage from his constituency – confirms that he is probably the most tecchie of all politicians.
Donohoe, a regular blogger and Tweeter, now “wonders if Seanad Tweeters will get a warning from Cathaoirleach tomorrow”, he posted.
In the run-up to the 2007 general election, some candidates took their lead from the US and set up very professional websites, with blogs and video messaging. But the benefit was infinitesimal.
The 2007 election campaign was a traditional one; fought on the airwaves, billboards, and in newspapers. The main function of the party websites – with a couple of exceptions, including the Labour Party – was to act as a kind of basic billboard.
Since then, the old order has been violently usurped, as all the web tools, from sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, have come into their own.
“This has been the year when it has really taken off; where technology has come into the mainstream,” says Shauneen Armstrong of the Labour Party, who, as Red Mum, is also one of Ireland’s best known bloggers.
“We used video as far back as 2007. But what’s happening now is that a site is no longer just a forum for press releases.”
We asked some of the more frequent Tweeters to justify their use of it, using its strangled format of 140 characters.
@Paschald(Paschal Donohoe) "Uses Twitter to talk to groups interested in my work, a vital audience! Uses it as politics needs more coverage, not less."
@CiaranCuffe"A tweet is a short txt msg to friends followers – transparent, concise, relevant often emotional. Politics ought to be more like this."
@sendboyle(Dan Boyle) "Maybe it's a case of, I tweet, therefore I am. To my mind it's a case of wherever two or more people are gathered especially with technology."
@jerrybuttimer"I tweet daily as i really enjoy informing people about whats going on. Also get good feedback on issues and news. it helps me to be informed about 4 hours ago."
@daracalleary"It's a valuable resource in promoting politics and constituency developments particularly among the younger generation. Don't use in chamber."
There is no question that the use of technology is becoming more sophisticated. Fine Gael has its own web-based TV channel called FGTV which features vox pops from the streets, other interviews and coverage of major Fine Gael events.
“After 2007 we were determined to put all the blocks in place. We wanted to develop a strong presence on the web, we wanted to rebrand the party,” says communications director Ciarán Conlon. “It’s a two-way street. We communicate. But it’s also a way of mounting campaigns, and of mobilising people.”
And that became clear in the local elections this year, when younger candidates such as Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy in Dublin used Facebook and MySpace to communicate with volunteers, and to update potential voters on messages.
For Ian Kilroy, a journalism lecturer at DIT, it was Howard Dean’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in the US in 2003 and 2004 that first showed how it could be done. “He was Governor of Vermont but unknown. He ran a grassroots campaign on the web which raised a lot of money and showed the possibility of this new communications tool. Obama learned a lot.”
But he says it should not be oversold. “The message is the same. The platform is alternative but incidental. It’s a new way of conveying the message.”
Follow Harry McGee’s blog at irishtimes.com/blogs/politics
