After taking a close look at the use of social media by the city's various civic candidates, these individuals came out at the top of the class:
JONATHAN X. COTE, for council
Thumbs up:
Cote has one of the most cohesive web campaigns among all the candidates with a solid easy-to-find website, a Twitter account that is well used and well followed (more than 500 tweets and nearly 400 followers at press time) and an active Facebook profile. He also keeps it simple: his Twitter handle is @jonathanxcote (no vague screen names here), and his website at http://votecote.ca is clean and well laid out. He's also good at covering all his bases: his election signs include his website name, he's got his website listed on his Twitter profile, and he's got links to both his Facebook and Twitter accounts off his main web page. If it's all about creating connections, Cote has it in spades.
Thumbs down:
It's hard to find any negatives for Cote's campaign efforts on the web, but he could engage a bit more in conversation on Twitter - but given that he's using Twitter better than most of his counterparts, it's hard to call this a negative for him.
His grades:
Visibility: A+
Interaction: B+
Overall effectiveness: A
DAVID PHELAN, for school trustee
Thumbs up:
Like his fellow "winners," Phelan has his bases covered: a Facebook page that's easy to find, an active Twitter account (nearing 300 Tweets at press time) and a website that allows easy connections to his other web presences. Anyone looking to find out more about Phelan would have no problem doing so. He has also tied in traditional campaign tactics with web-based ones, by including his website address on his campaign signs around town. For a voter, that's an easy way to give them a chance to find out more about a candidate.
Thumbs down:
Very few criticisms for Phelan's efforts - as an addition to the traditional campaigning efforts, he's doing well online. But as a new name for voters, he has to work hard to get his name out, and that includes maximizing his presence on the web.
His grades:
Visibility: A
Interaction: B+
Overall effectiveness: A-
JONINA CAMPBELL,
for school trustee
Thumbs up:
Campbell is using all her online options, and then some, in her campaign efforts - she has a Facebook page with a good amount of traffic, an active Twitter account (with nearly 200 tweets and more than 100 followers) and a campaign website that is easy to use. She also has a blog, called Growing Up Urban, which appears to have been in existence since late 2010, that looks at play for children in an urban setting and to "inspire everyone to get puddle jumping." She's doing a good job connecting to those in her target demographic: young web-savvy families who are interested in school district happenings.
Thumbs down:
Not much to criticize here, except that as a newcomer, she simply has a lower profile on the campaign trail, which means she should put in more effort for visibility than those who are incumbents.
Her grades:
Visibility: A-
Interaction: B+
Overall effectiveness: A
BETTY McINTOSH, for council
Thumbs up:
McIntosh is easy to find with a simple Google search, and her website is comprehensive with lots of information but easy to navigate. She also includes a direct link to her Twitter account, which - with more than 250 tweets and 112 followers - is one of the more active accounts among candidates.
Thumbs down:
Hard to find on Facebook as she doesn't use her full last name. Though Twitter is well used by those who are on it, Facebook still has a larger membership and therefore a wider audience. To maximize the ability for people to find a candidate, we suggest using full names (and city identifiers) whenever possible.
Her grades:
Visibility: B+
Interaction: B+
Overall effectiveness: B+
Top marks also go to:
James Crosty, for mayor: Crosty seems to be one of the most confident and comfortable users of social media platforms, maximizing his options. He comes in first among mayors. See our overview on the mayoral candidates on page 3.
Michael Ewen, for school trustee: Using Twitter as it's intended to be used - as a platform for direction interaction with other people. Quick to respond to Tweets. But doesn't have a Facebook presence that we could find.
Vladimir Krasnogor, for council: Krasnogor is incredibly easy to find - having a unique name probably helps, but he's also using Facebook, Twitter and a website to allow voters to find him. Unfortunately, his accounts don't appear to be well used - at last count, he had just 10 followers on Twitter.
Jaimie McEvoy, for council: McEvoy uses Facebook well, maximizing the different options for creating profiles. He has a "page" as a political figure, but also an "event" for re-election. That means multiple avenues for connecting to voters. He also has a Twitter account - though it's not well used - and a clean, easy to find website.
Behind the scenes: See reporter Christina Myers' blog at www.royalcityrecord.com for more on our analysis.
Want to make a comment? If you think we have it all wrong, or you just want to share your opinion about social media use in the New Westminster election, visit Christina Myers' blog at www.royalcityrecord.com, or follow her on Twitter, @ChristinaMyersA.
