Comments on: Manto & Facebook

By: Mail & Guardian to launch ThoughtLeader | Facebook

Mail & Guardian to launch ThoughtLeader | Facebook — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:05:13 +0000

[...] I’ve written a nice piece on my section regarding FaceBook & Politics, which I wanted to link to from [...]

By: Nozesolo Mpopo

Nozesolo Mpopo — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:10:26 +0000

Platforms like facebook are quite good for public opinion but the crux is, does the opinion expressed on such forums make a difference?

By: Vinny Lingham

Vinny Lingham — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:43:33 +0000

I agree, however, I’d probably like to discuss my political views with you offline

By: Ivo Vegter

Ivo Vegter — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:57:43 +0000

I’m not convinced. Even if the numbers are there, and politicians believe they’re representative, I doubt our politicians will ever be as responsive to direct democracy and public opinion. There’s one core reason for that: list-based proportional representation. Politicians must be loyal to the party to remain on the list, not to the electorate to remain in office. The voters merely get to say “ANC”, and the ANC says who serves and who doesn’t. By contrast, in the USA, politicians are elected directly, at city, state and federal level, and both for the legislature and at governor or presidential level. That means public opinion can make or break a political career, which it cannot do in South Africa unless the party wishes it.

By: Vinny Lingham

Vinny Lingham — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:50:35 +0000

Barely 5 days have passed since this post was made and the Facebook group now stands on 858 members…

The impact on South Africa = 0

The proof that people are willing to at least make a stand on line is there…give us 5 or 10 years, and online will make as much of an impact here, as it does in the USA.

By: Llew Claasen

Llew Claasen — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:11:57 +0000

I’m sorry, but did I miss the boat? When did our South African politicians start caring about what any group of protesters thought?

Facebook will make exactly zero difference to the Manto debate, which is a pity as it says nothing about the value of the Facebook debate, but everything about the way that Thabo’s paternalistic ANC governs.

Maybe one day…

By: Vinny Lingham

Vinny Lingham — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:49:02 +0000

On another point Ivo, many industry pundits in the USA now believe that the YouTube political debates will hold the key to the outcome of the 2008 presidential elections in the USA. YouTube is a social network on many levels – the influence there is undeniable – locally though, it is a few years away…

By: Vinny Lingham

Vinny Lingham — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:45:05 +0000

Ivo: I do agree, the impact itself will be low right now, and perhaps the media will quote the group to give it some more momentum.

The reality is that right now, digital “protests” are not going to impact policy – but in 20 years time? Who knows?!

By: Eve Dmochowska

Eve Dmochowska — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:39:37 +0000

And I agree fully. And “wisdom of crowds” in not necessarily a bad thing. The elected officials, often due to the very nature of their responsibilities, are often far removed from what matters to you and me. It is great to watch how the social media is forcing politicians to acknowledge the citizens’ points of view. Granted, it is happening on a big scale in the US and not here, but it is happening nevertheless, as the FB group shows. The walls are coming down – hooray for us.

By: Ivo Vegter

Ivo Vegter — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:36:58 +0000

I don’t think Facebook will make any impact whatsoever. Two reasons: if the mainstream media doesn’t make an impact, there’s no way the ANC in general (and Thabo Mbeki in particular) is going to listen to a few rich white kids online. (Face it, that’s how he’ll read the demographic.)

I spoke to Alan Knott-Craig a while ago, for a magazine article I was writing. I asked him about the 15 000 people that (at the time) were on the “I f’en hate the Vodacom meerkat” group. This represented over 10% of all the members of the South Africa network on Facebook. He reckons he’s got enough trouble dressing up 15 000 people as meerkats every weekend.

Facebook may pose interesting marketing questions, but whether self-selected samples who join advocacy groups are a good proxy for marketing research isn’t one of them.