Candidates tweeting for votes

A March 5, 2011 Orlando Sentinel Article discusses a trend in the Florida Legislature hopping on the social media bandwagon and tweeting to their followers. In the article, State Senator Paula Dockery talks about how the micro-blogging website helps keep her informed on political news and provide her with another communication outlet to her constituents. Currently, the Orlando Sentinel counts thirteen state senators and sixty-two house members on the site. But twitter is not only a tool for those in office; multiple mayoral candidates here in Jacksonville are actively micro-blogging to reach their constituents - and so are a few of their opponents.

The 2010 elections were a big boost for the use of technology in modern politics. I for one personally followed the campaigns of Kendrick Meek, Alex Sink and others during the last cycle, and I read their posts every morning. In this headline, attention grabbing media culture we fit into these days, Twitter has become a quick way to grab one's attention and keep them informed.

Our local elections here in Jacksonville have seemed to follow suit. Of the ten qualified mayoral candidates on the Supervisor of Elections website Alvin Brown, Mike Hogan, Warren Lee, Audrey Moran, and Rick Mullaney all have active accounts.

• Alvin Brown - @AlvinForMayor
• Mike Hogan - @HoganForMayor
• Warren Lee - @WarenLee4Mayor
• Audrey Moran - @ImWithAudrey
• Rick Mullaney - @MullaneyForMayor

Candidates are tweeting about upcoming events, forums, fundraisers, debates and meet and greets and using the platform to rally support. 

Traditional media is also jumping in. The Florida Times Union (@jaxdotcom) and its team of local political reporters tweet away campaign news attaching #jaxmayor and #jaxpol to their short messages to make them more searchable.  But it is not all news and rosy endorsements on the cheerfully designed social media site; some accounts have been set-up to mock the candidates and take a jab at their flaws in character and campaign.

@HogansEmptyChair was set-up by an anonymous user, poking fun at the Tax Collector's conspicuous absences at forums and debates during the campaign. @HoganBlockedMe is another twitter user that uses the site to campaign against the Republican candidate. Similar accounts have been set up targeting Audran Moran and Rick Mullaney. @AudreyIsAbsent targets the favored candidate of the Chamber of Commerce, while @34PointPlan and @MullaneysPension ridicule the former General Counsel as a rich, frat boy with a gold-plated jet-ski. These users tend to utilize humor in their criticism of the candidates and do not tend to endorse a candidate of their own.

So while it is clear that Twitter can be a tool to get someone elected, it can also be a tool to inform the electorate and attack other candidates' character and campaign.Twitter has turned into another battleground of the political arena; one that has yet to be fully studied or realized.