Social networking did something extraordinary today. For much too long, it has been assumed that the winner of the ‘X Factor’ will, inevitably, become Christmas Number One. Social networking has turned that idea on its head – meaning that the once improbable is now possible and the once inevitable is no longer certain to happen. In what would have been a million to one change at the start of the year, Rage Against the Machine, rather than the X Factor winner has gained the coveted Christmas Number One position.
The purpose of this blog isn’t to talk about the musical merits of this event (although I am a RATM fan and not a massive fan of the X Factor and pre-packaged pop). Instead, we should be noting how social media has effectively driven a campaign in massive numbers. What started off as a viral Facebook campaign ended up driving the news agenda and stopping what was previously thought of as an inevitability.
There are plenty of fairly vocal sceptics about the power of social media and viral marketing in the political field. But what this campaign shows is that where there is an issue that captures the imagination then social media will ensure that the issue catches fire in a way that would have been impossible before. We can either use social media effectively to help Progressive Toryism or it will be used against us. It promises to be one of the most powerful tools for driving change over the coming years. That is why it is so important the people involved in politics learn to embrace social media rather than being overtaken by it.
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The problem with translating this into politics is that these campaigns seem to work best when they have a very simple and very negative message.
RATM was a simple two finger salute to the X Factor and all it stood for. The previous big success was a simple two finger salute to the Daily Mail and all it stood for.
Not sure how you could spark off a similar campaign on anything more complex that this.