David Cameron – Social Media Mischief

Pimp my poster

Humour and UK politics. A very timely and funny rework of the craze that hit Facebook last year of creating your own random album, this is an opportunity for the at home political satirist to pimp the Tory poster.

For more of these go to http://mydavidcameron.com/

The site illustrates how offering and opportunity for UGC is a means of promoting ideology. Offer an easy way to host the conversation.

In terms of media coverage it has already been very successful (Daily Mail, Mirror and Guardian). It would be very interesting to see the stats of the site – how many visitors find out who is behind the site, how many go to the blogroll like links on the right hand side, how many entries they have received and a follow up on the visitors political position.

What is clear is that we’ve moved on a long way since the last UK general election. If the election is to be on May 6 as was gaffed yesterday, it’ll be interesting to see how the web and social media will be used to 1. promote messages 2. engage with prospective voters.

The Jam and Jerusalem

The combination of the impact of the net on the US Presidential race and a plethora of articles on 1968 and radicalism, you can’t help but wonder why the UK political establishment is 1) so reticent about embracing the net 2) forays into it are so staged and so disappointing.

Maybe it’s the two decades of focus groups and consensus that have moved everything into the beige and the bland. What a shame! Especially when we have all these 40 something yr olds in or around the halls of power, or what is now being known as The Jam Generation – you can’t help but feel disappointed that the energy of the late 70′s and early 80′s of their most formative years isn’t being directed online. Instead we’re getting spin from the conservatives (Cameron) about how they grew up with The Jam’s “Eton Rifles” and left inspired musos such as The Smiths and Billy Bragg.

John Harris (don’t you love John Harris) has a great article in The Guardian today – a musical parallel on why there’s such a disconnect between digital potential and UK politics.

“If we ain’t getting through to you, you obviously ain’t listening.” Town Called Malice, The Jam 1982.