It’s always good to branch out in an effort to reach more people – especially in politics. That said, the Internet can be a challenging place for people who want to run for public office. It’s political suicide to not have an online presence these days (website, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), but it’s even worse to be online and to screw it up. As we hear time and again, what goes on the Internet stays on the Internet and it can spread quickly.
Thus, it’s vitally important that, just like for companies, politicians and political parties have proper online communication and marketing plans and personnel which are flexible and open to emerging trends, but also appropriately reactive in times of trouble.
Reddit, AMA’s, and Politicians
A growing popularity amongst political figures is to get onto Reddit and conduct an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session. As an almost unrestricted free open forum, these AMA’s are an opportunity for all anonymous Reddit users to throw whatever questions they want to the person hosting the session and wait for the responses to come in. Celebrities, authors, interesting personalities, and the likes do these everyday. Within the past couple years, politicians have been hopping on board the train – and it hasn’t always gone so well.
An initiative such as a Reddit AMA can gain a significant amount of online exposure, but it is essentially releasing any control an individual or organization has over the direction of a conversation. Some politicians, such as President Barack Obama, have been relatively successful by employing methods such as very short time limits of a half hour to answer questions. People don’t expect much in a half hour.
A “Train Wreck”
The same can’t be said for Matt McCall who was challenging an incumbent in a Republican primary. His AMA became Reddit-famous because it became a massive failure. People instantly began bombarding McCall with questions that he appeared unprepared to answer, such as: “In a previous comment, you said you wanted to keep the government “out of our bedrooms.” Yet immediately following that statement, within the same comment you said marriage is between a man and a woman. Would you like to take a moment to explain this comment and defend your position?” and “If you believe in shutting down the EPA, what do you propose to do about the growing environmental problems in the United States such as the pollution of major waterways such as the Mississippi river through fertilizer and manure runoff from farms, the poisoning of groundwater from factory runoff and fracking, and the regulation of emissions by cars on the road, or do you believe these are not legitimate concerns?”
These questions went unanswered. Attempts were made to delete the thread. Then McCall’s account. Then people on Facebook claimed the questions were “unfair.” Other Reddit users summarized the event in this way:
Martin O’ Malley, another American politician rumoured to be considering running for President, had his AMA covered by The Washington Post. The reason? He only answered a couple dozen questions and his responses were described as lacklustre.
Kathleen Wynne, the Premier of Ontario, attempted an AMA during the last election campaign. Hers was covered by the CBC. Again, she evidently ignored a number of difficult questions and responses with limp answers. One Redditor commented: “This was the worst AMA I’ve ever seen. She responded to the easiest questions possible and ignored almost everything of substance — even her answers to any sort of controversial questions were non-statements.” At the end of the day, she still won her election.
In the Vancouver mayoral election, the three frontrunner candidates also took part in their own AMA’s. None were as disastrous as Matt McCall’s, but even Kirk LaPointe’s had a number of criticisms for not answering popular questions and answering many with simply stating that he’d “study the matter.”
The Point
Kirk LaPointe conducting a Reddit AMA. Source: Huffington Post
The point is this: the Internet is a phenomenal tool to connect with populations the world over. Branding yourself properly and utilizing the Internet positively can make an individual appear in a very good light. However, some Internet communications streams can also be risky, and Reddit AMA’s for politicians are a prime example of this. They are unregulated and highly popular: the politician and his/her team either needs to be very prepared and open, or they need to avoid them altogether. Modern political campaign marketing plans might want to take these sorts of online forums into account.
For a compilation of the best political AMA’s, go here: http://www.topiama.com/cat/politics.
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