So the UK election date has finally been announced. Commentators are saying that this will be the year that the internet will impact on the citizens of the United Kingdom and their choice of their new leaders. Whilst television debates between party heads is something new to the UK, it is likely that the post-broadcast scrutiny will be conducted through social media channels, with the content quickly edited and re-framed to paint the participants in a different light for all to see.
It will be interesting to see whether Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) will engage positively with their constituents online and whether the debates, policies and manifestos will be open and transparent. How accessible will PPCs be prior and post election? What long tail content will be exposed to heighten or damage the reputations of individuals intending to represent the views of the country in Parliament? And how savvy will PPCs be when it comes to managing what i-Crossing VP Antony Mayfield calls their ‘web shadow’ – their online reputation as defined by what is found by searching for them?
Here at Telnic, we commissioned Kipper Williams to put together a fun cartoon to imagine what it would be like if all PPCs were to think about how their constituents can find and contact them easily, so that they can interact with them in their daily lives through the channels that they use. There is still an incredible diversity of communications channels and technologies that are being employed by residents of the UK, matching the diversity of the country’s inhabitants.
With a .tel name, PPCs can be easily found, can communicate with their constituents using different languages, and quickly update them on the location of their next surgery or other meetings, as well as having a central place online under their control in order to manage their online reputation. With time pressures and focus on communicating, as well as the diversity of PPCs skills in the online environment, a .tel name can be an incredibly useful and easy to manage resource to help them in their campaigning.
For PPCs that would like to find out more, please email Aled Williams.
Tags: General Election, web shadow