Published online at GlobalTVEdmonton.com on February 17, 2011.
Linda Hoang, Karyn Mulcahy, Global News: Thursday, February 17, 2011
Political tweets
Alberta’s political landscape is in the midst of a huge change.
Leaders of both the Conservative and the official opposition Liberal parties announced they would be stepping down, which has opened the door for a leadership race within both major parties.
A number of contenders have thrown their hats in the ring including two who this week chose to use the popular social networking website Twitter, as the platform to announce their candidacy.
Another contender had also announced he would be heavily using social media during his leadership campaign.
The decision to make Twitter the first place to release news was also made by Premier Ed Stelmach when he announced a cabinet shuffle through the social network this week.
Below are the breaking news “tweets” Alberta’s high-profile politicians made this week.
Conservative MLA Alison Redford
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011
Conservative MLA and former Alberta Justice Minister Alison Redford chose to announce her candidacy for Tory leadership through Twitter on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The announcement was Redford’s very first tweet on the social networking website.
Premier Ed Stelmach
Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011
Premier Ed Stelmach chose to announce a cabinet shuffle via Twitter just before 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 17., listing the province’s new Justice Minister, Advanced Education Ministers and Parliamentary Assistant for Finance. The premier’s tweet went out to nearly 5,000 followers.
Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman
Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011
Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman tweeted her intention to run for leadership of the Alberta Liberals on Thursday, Feb. 17 just a half hour after the premier’s cabinet shuffle tweet. Like Redford, Blakeman is a newcomer to the social networking website but still chose to announce her candidacy through it.
What do you think of the use of social media in the political arena? Is it under used? Are the politicians who are using it doing it in the right way?
Click here to read the article on the Global Edmonton website.
