London's election focuses on social media

With Hack the Vote and the London Free Press having candidates fill out surveys and hosting online chats with the chief returning officer, this year's municipal election is appearing to be more social media savvy.

Kate Dubinski of the London Free Press, who regularly writes about local online trends, said adding more online is an opportunity for voters to get more in-depth information on the candidate. Recent surveys, similar to those popular on Facebook, asked questions of the candidates about family and leadership style.

“The civic election section (on the website) ... gives us a much bigger space to give (the candidates). We couldn't print all the surveys in the paper. With online, if you want a page-long essay about taxation, go ahead,” she said.

As a media outlet, they are responsible to disseminate as much information as they can on as many platforms as possible.

With their CRO chat, they got a lot of good questions from individuals, said Dubinski.

As to whether the increased social media presence of election promotion will actually increase the number of voters — “the jury's still out” on that, she said.

Hack the Vote uses social media not just to get out information but primarily to encourage voting. Their website, recently gone live, features everything from Hacker Tools to maps and an explanation on how to vote.

And it's not just citizen groups who have jumped on the social media bandwagon. Candidates are doing their best to get the hang of it. Shawn Adamsson of Hack the Vote noted that current mayor, Anne Marie DiCicco-Best, has an online presence despite being a bit of a “newbie.” In addition, councilors Judy Bryant, Paul Hubert and Nancy Branscombe have all made the transition into the social media world.

The Interrobang will be helping students out during this municipal election also through social media. So be sure to check out our Twitter @fsuinterrobang, fsu.ca and our October 12 issue for all the election details, including a bio of all the candidates in Fanshawe's ward (ward 3) and the mayoral candidates. Remember, Fanshawe's advance vote happens on October 14!
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