I'm Just Sayin'

I'm Just Sayin'

The power of YouTube in Canadian politics

Dave Siekanowicz - Thursday, May 12, 2011

Last week Canadians witnessed a great change in Federal politics when the NDP and Jack Layton managed to become the leader of the opposition to Stephen Harper's majority, gaining 102 seats in the House of Commons. That's an amazing feat considering that five weeks earlier they had a mere 30-something seats. This sudden rise in NDP popularity was clearly reflected all across the country, especially in Quebec. Aside from partisan affiliations and individual vote based on research and conviction, it's interesting to see what other forces affect elections. Since we do specialize in Social Media and Digital Strategies at Infinity, I was quick to gravitate towards researching the role each of these played in the NDP's successful campaign.

I'm sure most of us have already read about the important role Facebook played in Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign. Using Facebook, Obama and his campaign team were able to notify. mobilize, network and connect with a myriad of young voters from across the US. Many political commentators say that it was Obama's smart use of Social Media that helped him gain these votes and spread his message. Early on Obama was smart enough to hire Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes to act as his Director of Online Operations (or Facebook Expert for short). While his campaign victory cannot be credited solely to Facebook and other Social Media outlets, it is important to acknowledge the important role each played in the success of his campaign.

In our recent election I witnessed the NDP hustle on YouTube like no other political party. You couldn't view your recent subscription update or search for that viral video of the little monkey riding on the back of a big without seeing Jack Layton's face on the giant masthead ads the NDP purchased during the election. Not only were viewers constantly exposed to these ads, targeted at Canadian IP addresses, but they were often forced to view a 10-30 second commercial clip before viewing the video they had selected. On top of that most of the ads were interactive, linking the viewers back to the NDP's YouTube channel where they would be able to consume more videos. While gaining views on their personal channel wasn't amazingly successful, their constant advertising and pre-video commercials exposed millions of users to their message and platform. Considering all of this came with a high price it's safe to assume that the NDP realized the value of YouTube in reaching and engaging with voters in a new way.
A great example of how much benefit can come about as a result of proper use and optimization of Social Media and Digital Strategies.

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"You Can't Always Trust Facebook"- Martin Luther King Jr.

Dave Siekanowicz - Thursday, May 05, 2011

It's quite amazing to see the validity-free power Facebook users can experience and exercise on a daily basis as they share, message and post just about everything and anything they want. I can list myself as having attended Harvard, or check in somewhere I'm not with people who aren't with me while updating my status to any ridiculous activity my mind chooses. While this can all be fun and games, the end results can generate some less than credible information (or just pure lies).

A few days ago, following the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden, a popular Martin Luther King Jr. 'quote'* began circulating on Twitter and Facebook, "I mourn the loss of a thousand precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." Sounds nice enough right? The problem: it's made up! It wasn't a malicious invention designed to tarnish the words of Dr. King, but rather a mix up. On Monday a Facebook user named Jessica wrote the aforementioned statement and proceeded to follow it with a quote from Dr. King. A few of her friends liked it so much they decided to repost and retweet it, assuming the entire posting was a quote from the great MLK. Within hours Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with a newly popularized MLK quote.

Of course the people at Atlantic Monthly and The Washington Post noticed that something was off and after some research were able to bring the story forth and set the record straight. Now it's not a terrible mistake, but it is a mistake that reveals the power of Facebook and Twitter. Social media can now help legitimize and spread information at rates faster than any other service. This is why this story is so particularly interesting: it could have only worked with Facebook. The quote would have never been as widely received if it would have been shared using email, Myspace, YouTube, texting or the countless other forms of new media.

The lesson here: situations such as this reveal the unequivocal power and speed with which Facebook and Twitter can spread information and messages. They could very well be the most effective tools you have at your disposal. But the question is, are you using them correctly? Or could you use a helping hand to guarantee improved results?

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