Friday, May 25, 2012

Obama on Twitter: What India Needs to Learn.

On Thursday Prez Obama had an open house of sorts when he invited the American public to post questions to him on Twitter, which he decided to answer in person.  While many expected his office to respond to the queries and comments on behalf of the President, it was Obama himself communicating directly with Tweeples from across the country. 

An interesting move; afterall politics can no longer stay isolated from technology. And while election campaigns do find their presence on social networking sites, it's not often that you find a candidate, let alone the elected head of the state communicate with people personally on their profile. 

Should the Indian PM pick up on this too? Former minister Shashi Tharoor seems to have established a social media savvy persona. Though it has also courted controversies on many counts. But apart from him, one can barely think of another politician who actively communicates with the people in the country. In person. 

One wonders, in an age when customers are able to voice their complaints on a company's Facebook page, shouldn't municipalities and local representatives too take to social media and allow the public to have greater access to them and thereby in the decision making process? 

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