20 February 2013... Reading today about the Eastleigh by-election is pretty much the usual by-election fare and not really interesting except....
...the Conservative use of digital media.
In the USA they are well ahead of the UK in using the full range of digital and social media in their elections with the Obama team having set the pace. But now the Conservatives are the first UK political Party to have really grasped the concept. Labour and the LibDems in particular are catching on too but they are well behind the Conservatives in this.
The main thrust is the gathering of raw data that will be able to be exploited in the General Election. It may not have a massive impact on the by-election itself but it could help set the scene for a very different kind of General Election than has been fought before.
This is all about database building at present and using Eastleigh as a test bed.
They need to be careful though. There is no substitute for getting out there and door knocking. Data and media campaigns must only be used to supplement other methods to make that small crucial difference. The danger is that too much reliance will be placed on this as, in recent elections, too much reliance has been placed on telephone banks.
PS - Much has been made about the Conservative candidate saying that she would educate her gifted son privately. Good for her, if she can afford it so she should and relieve the taxpayer of that expense. We should all do what is right for our children.
The lady can give her child the education she wishes. Her mistake was to assert that state education could not provide as much, and she was rightly put in her place for this calumny. Why she should be elected on a platform of anti-state education is beyond my ken. If she is local this time, this may be something of a USP, to differentiate this campaign from her many others elsewhere.
Door knocking verses calling 'pssst' from some electronic alleyway. 'Database' sounds like an opinion to have on the antics of a Star Trek android once his inhibition chip has been removed. What it might actually refer to here is unclear.
"using the full range of digital and social media "
Is catching a Tiger by the tail seen as a good thing? The ease of use is matched by the ease of abuse, and the public are way ahead of the Political Partys as are the myriad pressure groups.