www.ChrisLaBossiere.com

Today I had a very enjoyable conversation and coffee with Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell. I am neither a Liberal Party member, nor that active in my opinions of Federal politics. Interestingly though, Mitchell sought me out after we got into a small tete-e-tete on Twitter about partisanship. I applaud him for invoking an in-person meeting where we quickly became more similar than different.

Our discussion today turned to how Social Media can be used as a force to activate the electorate. As we spoke, I shared with him my fascination with how the average citizen suddenly has the ability to "publish" their own thoughts through blog posts, tweets and by clustering with like minded others on social media networks. We both agreed that this was a powerful evolutionary force in how movements can get their start. Not surprisingly the "Obama Effect" was discussed and used as an example of how a broad grassroots movement can start and grow. Even our Premier, Ed Stelmach, mentioned the "Obama Effect" in his Q & A session with party delegates at the PC AGM. I have thought a lot about this, and in particular when I look to the Bill 44 debate and how it evolved quickly online, somewhat empowering regular citizens.

But as I think about it, and in particular President Obama's success using it, I can't help but think that the successful use of online tools to raise awareness, then money and finally get out the vote, was not entirely because of the TOOL as much as it was the VISION the tool was propagating. President Obama has a message of hope and a defined new way, that resonated with people. Particularly in light of the lack of hope that President Bush may have cast over people.

So as I think more about this, I think that politicos are wise to work on their vision first, and then if that vision resonates with people, social media simply allows a highly leveraged environment for that vision to spread. Tools change, but politics is simply about building hope and pointing people in a collective direction. Old tools worked also, be it traditional media, or word of mouth campaigns. The nature of social media tools in fact can harm a poorly created vision, and I think the Bill 44 debate, or recent H1N1 delivery debacle proved just that by harming the reputation of the PCs amongst some, as bad policy or governance. In those cases citizens used that same social leverage to rally against a bad idea or vision.

So for me, I am looking for ideas and vision first. The political party that has built its social media leverage at the same time by being active participants will then be able to use these tools successfully when coupled with a compelling story.

Of course you can transpose this idea to business as well.