Sunday, August 1, 2010

The Ruler of Dubai now has his own facebook page, the latest world leader to go online, reports Sean O’Driscoll

There are photos of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed at the beach, there are photos of him with his horse and photos of him talking to a young boy.

In the comments section, there are queries from the public. Why, asks one man, do the Dubai street lamps come on during the day and switch off at night?

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has joined Facebook, uploading family photos and opening a new forum for the public.
It’s the latest development in a series of online projects designed to make the Ruler of Dubai more accessible to his public.

Earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed did an online question and answer session with journalists in which he gave frank opinions on topics that ranged from labour rights to democracy.  This was followed a few weeks later by a similar online question and answer session with the public, in which he said Dubai was recovering well from the global downturn and conceded the UAE national football team was not doing so well.

And he joins a huge number of politicians who are now using social networking sites to spread their message. According to figures on the Twitter monitoring site, Twitterholic, politicians and world leaders have as many followers as actors, singers and celebrities.

While actor and pretty boy Aston Kutcher comes first, with a huge 2.5 million Twitter followers; Barack Obama rules the political world with nearly 1.6 million, while Al Gore has nearly 1.1 million.

Further down, Senator John McCain pulls in 893,000, although most are left over from his presidential run, while 873,000 actually want to discover the minute details of Gordon Brown’s every move at No.10 Downing Street in the UK.

While Twitter gives short jabs of relief to the politically over-curious, facebook is for those who want to gorge themselves on political trivia.

Politicians all over the world post photographs of themselves and upload daily feeds of their speeches, tours and opinions.

But will it last? Has the mainstream media been sidestepped? Have politicians landed on some electronic paradise where they can reach a mass audience without being publicly savaged by some aggressive journalist?

According to Robert Thompson, a professor of television and pop culture at Syracuse University in New York, social network sites could transform the way world leaders communicate, in the same way that radio did in the 1930s.

It’s a very cheap way to reach a mass audience, he said, without having to rely on the media to get the message across.

“A Facebook page is like an internationally distributed magazine,” he told 7DAYS. But like any magazine, the number of readers depends on the content. Bland political statements won’t get nearly as many readers as a web site that shows an unseen side of the politician, or uses humour to get the message across.

Twitter is a very different matter, Thompson believes. “Twitter’s value is extraordinarily limited  - tweets are so short that they make a sound-bite look like a well-developed thesis.” Worst of all, he says, Twitter’s easy, in-the-moment style can land politicians in some serious trouble.

“Many government officials have already got themselves in trouble for casual and not-thought-through tweets. The greatest value of Twitter is to direct readers to more substantial sites,” he said.

And Nick Burcher, who runs an online blog that monitors social networking among politicians, said that political use of social networking is here to stay.
“Whether Twitter remains the long-term platform remains to be seen,” Burcher said.

However, he believes some politicians will have to deliver more interesting information if they want the public to keep following their Twitter posts.
“Some, are using it effectively, with real information,” he said. “But, when you look through the daily entries, some are just simply banal.”

sean.odriscoll@7days.ae

Twittering on

Barack Obama
The American president is the most popular politician on Twitter, but his posts are dull. His Tweets are almost all links to policy web sites. The only one this week that wasn’t mere policy statement was “Exciting celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Pride Month at the White House yesterday”.

Queen Rania

Jordan’s queen offers much better insights than most people on the world stage and her entries are in a relaxed, outgoing style. Of a U2 concert this week, she writes: “Top notch entertainment with top priority causes… fun & awareness… Bono doesn’t have it like before, he has it better.” Last week she noted that Twitter is at the centre of events in Iran and praised the “cultured & courageous” people of that country.

Gordon Brown

The British Prime Minister’s Twitter posts from 10 Downing Street have a bit more personality, but the best posts come from his staff.  “No.10 admin has just made a mad dash through Leeds Station - just in time for the train” says one this week. Oh the fun.


Kevin Rudd

The Australian Prime Minister’s postings have more personality than nearly any other major world leader. Rudd asks Tweeters not to tell a family member about a surprise birthday party and says he hates the new ‘Terminator’ movie. And last week, he met comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ego ‘Bruno’, the celeb-obsessed fashionista. “I’m not confirmed in my determination to remain a fashion dork,” Rudd writes.

Sarah Palin

The Alaskan governor Twittered about the shock announcement that she will resign from the post. Mostly, though, her blog is just a giant block of American cheese.“Happy for hard working Alaskans who get a sunny break tomorrow to celebrate the Fourth of July - be safe, enjoy friends, thank the troops!” she wrote on Friday.

A GUIDE TO SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

What are social networking sites?

Web sites that allow users to keep in touch and meet new friends online.

What’s the difference between MySpace and Facebook?

MySpace was once the king of the social networking sites but has faced stiff competition in recent years from Facebook with its cleaner look.
Both serve the same purpose, a site for posting photographs, keeping up with friends and meeting new people.

Why is Twitter suddenly popular?

It allows people to post updates on the go, often from their Blackberry or other portable email device. Message space is very small - ideal for politicians who want to get a very quick point across.