Lauren MacEwan
Social media is taking on a growing role in how we interact with our friends, family and even our government. The last election showed that social media was a predictor on a national level and played an important part at the local level here in New Mexico. But now that the election is over, is it affecting the ways in which we interact with our elected officials? You bet.
C-SPAN is upping the bar considerably by live streaming the transfer of power in the new House of Representatives on their Facebook fan page. However, it does not stop there. You can comment on the coverage on the page through your Facebook or Twitter account. The C-SPAN Twitter page now includes a list of congressional members who tweet, so you can follow a specific congressperson or the entire list (!). They have also expanded their lists to include Congressional reporters, governors and even a list of all the various C-SPAN twitter feeds worldwide.
A Pledge to America also live streamed the transfer of power on Facebook. Their fan page has a video feed and a discussion window for people on Facebook to use as a chat room where people can discuss what is happening in real time.
What about New Mexico?
So what is New Mexico doing? There is an occasional webcast of the N.M. Legislature from its website – but this is purely voyeuristic; there is no discussion on the site. What we are truly missing is liveblogging from the N.M. Independent, which featured reporters, political commentary and comments and questions from readers. It was a great way to participate in the political happenings of the moment and connect yourself with the community, the reporters and even the politicians. Fortunately it’s not a 404 – there’s still one intrepid person posting there, so you can still get a little independent perspective!
The N.M. Independent was moving the political/constituency participation into the future with liveblogging. Now that it has essentially closed, will a social participatory experience with the Legislature be restricted to a web cam, and social media-based elected official/constituent interaction be restricted to election season?
New Mexico was beginning to embrace the national trend of integrating social media and technology, which encourages citizens to participate with the activities of the government through active commentary. Will that end with the Independent? Right now the most participatory techno media is Susana Martinez’s Facebook Page, where she’s talking about new appointments, committees and her experiences as she steps into office. This is a start.
It is good that Martinez did not stop her social media activity with the close of the election; however, there is little to no audience participation with her posts, and they don’t seem to provide any real insight. It is more just a way to report what is, rather than discuss what could be.
The question becomes, does New Mexico want to adopt the national trend, provide for live discussions during webcasts and promote access to Twitter lists of our local officials? Should we bring back liveblogging? Should our Legislature have a Facebook fan page where we live stream and actively discuss the issues of the day? Could this be the new way to ensure a robust democratic society?
Perhaps New Mexico needs and deserves a voice in emergent media.
Lauren (Armstrong) MacEwen is the primary social media consultant and strategist for SM Cubed Consulting. Follow her on Twitter. Find her on Facebook. Read her blog.