I did a further presentation to the team on harnessing Social Media for the campaign. The content is a little dated now as it was prepared in 2011, but many of the fundamental issues still remain.

1. On-line Media and The Campaign
2011
Presidential Campaign 2011
Sharon Hughes

2. What is’On-Line’?
• ‘On line’ is the terminology used to describe
information that is available electronically or
digitally
• There is no one, simple, list to describe
everything that is available, or could
potentially available on-line.
• The list is ever changing and ever growing and
is fluid depending on the needs of the user

3. So what are we defining as ‘on-line’
• There is a certain amount of activity which will
have to be classed as on-line
• For the purpose of the campaign it is
important to acknowledge which material is
‘on-line’ and which material is just material
• In many cases it will be both and it is
important that the Social on-line element of
the campaign is measured and mastered early
in the day

4. The Internet
• The easiest way to think of our on-line
activites, will be anything the campaign
produces which is only accessible via the
internet
• In 2000 the estimated interent user figures for
Ireland was c. 784,000 (20% of pop)
• By 2010 it stood at over 3 million and 65.8% of
the population *
*Figures from ITU

5. So whats on the internet?
• In relation to the campaign, it would be
envisaged that the following Internet tools
should be employed:
– The Website
– Social Networking Websites (mainly Facebook)
– Twitter
– You Tube
– Other Websites
– I-Products Applications or Apps and Podcasts

6. The Website

7. The Website
• What are websites used for?
– A website is the word used to describe a collection of
webpages
– A web page is a page of information which at one point
only contained static text and images but the Internet has
come a long way since that
– Webpages can now host a wide variety of info including
videos, recordings, archives etc
– People who use the Internet for political purposes are
called ‘Online Political Citizens’ and studies show they are
considered up to 7 times more influential than an average
citizen
*Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet

8. The Website
• Anyone who requires ‘background’
information will most likely head for the
official website
• The website should be viewed as the ‘Shop
Window’ of the campaign
• It needs to lure, attract and be very clear of
what's on offer
• It should also have very clear directions on
how to get more information

9. The Website
• A website is classed as a ‘many to many’
medium, which is important to remember
• A website should have good interactive tools,
but it is NOT an interactive medium
• It is imperative people have access to the best
information, in manageable bits
• In March 2009 Nielsen reported the average
visit to a website was 56 seconds*
*http://influxinsights.com/2009/technology/people-will-giveyou-56-seconds/

10. The Website
• There's also a theory known as the ‘3 click’ rule. If a
person cannot find what they’re looking for within
three clicks, they will leave the site
• The idea is to get people in, and give them the
information they WANT and directions for where else
they can go
• If they leave with those boxes ticked the Site has
achieved its purpose
• This means asides from a good archive of material for
those interested can peruse, the site should mainly
be used to direct people to other interactive sites

11. Facebook
• Facebook is defined as a Social Networking
Website
• It is currently the second most popular
website on the internet (after Google)
• It started as a service for Harvard Graduates to
find and connect with each other in 2004, it
now has over 600 million members*
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

12. Facebook

13. Facebook
• People connect with each
other as ‘friends’ this
gives them access to each
others pages
• The site has an internal
email which can now be
replied to through
external mail providers
• People can upload photos
friends can see

14. Facebook
• People can add links, videos and articles that
they feel their friends will be interested in
• People can update their ‘status’ which is a sort
of sound bite of their day or thoughts that
then becomes visible on other peoples pages
• It is this ability to share information that is
useful to a political campaign, as we
mentioned earlier, people are far more likely
to take recommendations from friends

15. Twitter
• Twitter is described as a ‘micro-blogging’
websites.
• The user ‘follows’ people they like and are
‘followed’ by people interested in what they
have to say
• The trick is it has to happen in less than 140
characters
• The ‘tweet’ is then uploaded and shows up
within the followers ‘feed’

16. Twitter

17. Twitter

18. Twitter
• Where Twitter is getting more popular is probably due to
the nature of smart phones. People are able to get bitesize chunks of information directly to their phone
• Recently, politicians are taking notice of twitter due to
the ability to gauge the public reaction of something in
‘real time’, such as the Queens visit
• Users can ‘tag’ things of interest and twitter counts these
tags, top 10 items at any one time are then promoted
• There is often an attempt to ‘trend’ things on purpose
like a charity or event

19. Twitter
• People can also tag people, for example when
Michael D was on BBC, he was being tagged
• If there were enough tags it would become
promoted
• If not, when someone searches the tags at a
later date for Michael D, they will see the
comments
• It is imperative not to over-tweet

20. You Tube
• You Tube is an on-line Video-Sharing website
• Users are able to watch, upload and share
videos
• There are two major categories of users:
Those who put up information, and those who
access the information
• Those who access information can register
accounts or not.

21. You Tube
• You Tube is currently the 3rd most used
website in the world
• It is a wonderful archive of a whole
arrangement of material
• The downside if it gets up there, we can’t take
it down
• I would suggest using You Tube as the archive
for the video footage under a newly formed
Michal D account

22. You Tube

23. You Tube

24. You Tube
• If an account holder is registered they can
comment on videos and rate them, if a user is
not registered they can see the video but give
no feedback
• Those who use You Tube to promote
themselves set up ‘Channels’. They then
upload their content and forward a link to
friends or encourage users to ‘Follow Me’

25. You Tube
• Content on You Tube at any given time can
range from:
– Home videos
– Comedy videos
– Short film productions
– ‘How to’ guides (from language to furniture)
– On-line tutorials
– Political videos
– Music Videos
– Illegal films in blocks

26. You Tube
• Up-loads can be a maximum of 30 minutes
• Up-loads are ‘tagged’, this is where if a user
searches certain words, the relevant tags will
be used to find them
• The campaign will need to agree a ‘tag’ that
will ‘uniform’ the uploads we wish them to
see
• It would be wise to ‘store’ all video material
on You Tube itself

27. You Tube
• There are more videos uploaded to You Tube
in 60 days, than 3 major US channels created
in 60 years
• Over 150 years worth of footage is watched
per day
• The average user spends 15 to 20 minutes a
day on You Tube*
• There are literally millions of videos on-line
*http://mashable.com/2011/02/19/youtube-facts/

28. You Tube
• The New York Times reported that Obamas
use of You Tube for Video data was seen as
more successful than television as it didn’t
interfere with peoples televison schedule and
videos were recommended by friends
• It also gives people the right to ‘check’ on
what a candidate has actually said in the face
of controversy
*http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaignchanged-politics/

29. You Tube for MD Higgins

30. I-Products: Apps and Podcasts
• Applications or Apps as
they’re referred to are often
re-formatted websites that
can be easily accessed off an
I-Phone
• This gives people access to
things they wouldn’t
otherwise have time for
• Podcasts are recordings
uploaded so people can listen
to them on their I-Products at
a later date

31. Live Streaming
• This is what its called when something is broadcast
live across the internet
• It can be referred to as being delivered in ‘real time’
• Many of the news agencies will be delivering live
broadcasts in real time over the campaign
• We also have the opportunity to set up our own
‘channel’ and have live episodes
• Personally I think this could be useful as we could
record it and upload it on You Tube for those who
miss it live

32. Comparison Chart of media
available
Facebook
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connectivity? Yes
Popular? Yes
Interactive? High
Promotional? Yes
Visibility? High
Controllable? Not at all
Quality of communication?
Medium, quantity not quality
• Comments: Those who already
like you will follow you on
Facebook and influence friends
You Tube
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connectivity? Yes
Popular? Yes
Interactive? Low
Promotional? Yes
Visibility? High
Controllable? Not at all
Quality of communication?
Medium, quality not quantity
Comments: You Tube needs to be
viewed as an archiving tool.
Controlling what happens after is
impossible

33. Comparison Chart of Media
Available
Twitter
Website
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connectivity? Yes
Popular? Yes
Interactive? Low to Medium
Promotional? Yes
Visibility? High
Controllable? Not at all
Quality of communication? Low,
lots of bite size info directing
traffic
• Comments: Twitter directs, it
doesn’t inform, keeping that in
mind will help
Connectivity? No
Popular? Depends on us
Interactive? Low
Promotional? Yes
Visibility? High
Controllable? Yes
Quality of communication? High,
but in a delivering way, not
interactive
• Comments: One visit per visitor is
likely all we’re getting

34. Email
• Nearly everyone in the country has email
• Its fast, cheap, can fit to size and direct
someone where you’d like them to be
• It can inform, lead, activate and direct
• It can also harass, annoy, bamboozle and
spam people
• I would recommend an email policy for
protocol be drawn up in advance of using
peoples details

35. To Close
• There is no simple ‘one stop shop’ element as
yet available on line
• As you can see from the most popular sites in
the world they each have their own niche and
strengths and uses
• There is a lot of lingo and terminology and it
would be wrong to dismiss this
• Vincent Browne called Twitter the ‘Tweet
machine’ it didn’t go wrong, but it didn’t go
unnoticed

36. To Close
• For a certain generation everything they do goes through some
form of I.C.T media, to not pay them the respect these people
feel they deserve will affect how they view you
• Try and get to grips with the basic fundamentals and as much of
the lingo as you can muster
• Also remember the amount of people aged 13 up who use them.
Studies have shown kids are often the most influential factor on
undecided parents
• Please remember if something gets onto the internet it can
NEVER be deleted. There will always be someone with the skills
to find it again.
• Also please be aware nothing goes unnoticed any more. Privacy
stops here

37. Questions?
Thanks
Sharon Hughes
May 2011