Mar 2, 2009

Last week the Politico released a controversial list of the most influential Twitter users in the Washington, DC area. The article spread around the Internet, as is typical of these types of articles, with the the LA Times and David Almacy responding with their own lists. All three lists are interesting, and sort of equally good/bad in their own way.

The only thing that really sparked a strong reaction in me was the inclusion of Barack Obama’s Twitter account as #4 in the original Politico list. Obama was almost certainly included due to the fact that he is followed by over 345,000 Twitter users, making him the most popular Twitterer in the world. I question Obama’s inclusion for two primary reasons:

His team hasn’t posted an update since the inaugaration a month and a half ago.
Even when they were posting, his Twitter account was pretty boring, consisting almost solely of updates from staff on his schedule and new features on his website. There are a few tweets that purport to be from Obama himself and are written in the first person. However, these first person tweets seem designed to be devoid of personality.

If you review his account, it is pretty clear that Team Obama is using Twitter almost solely to drive traffic to their website.

I find this interesting. Others, from Downing Street to Claire McCaskill to John Culberson to Shaquille O’Neil have shown how Twitter can be used by government, politicians and famous celebrities to achieve a variety of goals (transparency, building connections, etc.).

Team Obama ran what was undoubtedly the best web campaign in the history of the world. I am positive that people within the campaign understand Twitter, and that they could use the platform in groundbreaking ways if they wanted to.

I think it is pretty clear that they are basically opting out of Twitter.

My question is pretty simple: why?

http://keepaskingquestions.blogspot.com/ Krista Holloway

What a great blog post. In my opinion, the Obama election team very effectively used Twitter as a tactic. Post-election, it is obvious that this short-term tactic is not longer part of a larger strategy.

When engaging in social media it’s important for the company, brand or individual to plan on the long-term usage of the medium. It’s too bad, I agree with you, the Obama team could still Tweet effectively–if they put the time and resources towards it.
http://keepaskingquestions.blogspot.com/ Krista Holloway

What a great blog post. In my opinion, the Obama election team very effectively used Twitter as a tactic. Post-election, it is obvious that this short-term tactic is not longer part of a larger strategy.

When engaging in social media it’s important for the company, brand or individual to plan on the long-term usage of the medium. It’s too bad, I agree with you, the Obama team could still Tweet effectively–if they put the time and resources towards it.
http://www.bivingsreport.com Todd Zeigler

I think one reason may be that starting to actually engage people on Twitter is a slippery slope, if you are the President. If you start talking to folks, you pretty much have to talk to everyone. Easier for Senators with just a few thousands followers or Shaq, who can just selectively respond.

If I were them I’d probably start a new White House account and focus on breaking news, and have staff clearly maintain it. Basically the DowningStreet model. Him having a personal account doesn’t really work.
http://www.bivingsreport.com Todd Zeigler

I think one reason may be that starting to actually engage people on Twitter is a slippery slope, if you are the President. If you start talking to folks, you pretty much have to talk to everyone. Easier for Senators with just a few thousands followers or Shaq, who can just selectively respond.

If I were them I’d probably start a new White House account and focus on breaking news, and have staff clearly maintain it. Basically the DowningStreet model. Him having a personal account doesn’t really work.
RSL

They might be busy doing other things! Da!
RSL

They might be busy doing other things! Da!
http://wesleydonehue.com/2009/03/get-your-geek-on/ Get Your Geek On : Wesley Donehue

[...] Bivings Report: Why is Team Obama Opting Out of Twitter? [...]
http://www.bivingsreport.com/2011/the-obama-team-takes-to-twitter/ The Obama Team Takes to Twitter | The Bivings Report

[...] ever. Given how well run it was, it always seemed strange to me that they never really did much on Twitter. They built a massive following to be sure (over 9 million followers at last count), but the [...]
http://facebookap.com/?p=388 The Obama Team Takes to Twitter | facebookap.com

[...] digital debate ever. Given how good run it was, it always seemed bizarre to me that they never really did many on Twitter. They built a large following to be certain (over 9 million supporters during final count), [...]

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Why is Team Obama Opting Out of Twitter?

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