Maimane trending worldwide
BRANDING and political analysts have praised new DA leader Mmusi Maimane for taking to social media to engage South Africans, but warned that the tactic could backfire if not managed properly.
More than 100 000 tweets, ranging from the serious to the ridiculous, circulated with the hashtag, #AskMmusi, and the face of the DA which trended worldwide for most of yesterday.
The party hailed the success of the “Twitter Town Hall”, which is likely to see a spike in the use of social media platforms by political parties as they start their campaigns before the local government elections next year.
Speaking to The Mercury last night, the DA’s communications director, Jamie Turkington, said they were happy with the response received from the tweeps (followers on Twitter.)
“He wasn’t expecting such a response but he is more familiar with Twitter than Facebook, so he was able to respond quite quickly to most of them. We will be going through each tweet to see if there are issues that he may need to delve deeper into,” he said.
Asked whether Maimane was overwhelmed at having trended internationally for most of the day, Turkington said the technologically-savvy leader had not been aware of his trending status.
“He is going to do this whenever he gets a chance because we believe it’s a great platform to communicate with the public on issues that affect our country,” he said.
University of KwaZulu-Natal media expert, Professor Ruth Teer-Tomaselli, said being accessible on social media made Maimane appealing to young voters, especially in a country where some politicians do not engage the public on such platforms.
“Social media has been shown to be of extreme importance in political campaigns around the world, while traditional media such as posters can be viewed as outdated,” she said.
However, Teer-Tomaselli warned that while social media was considered “cool and immediate”, it was also “shallow” and lacked the depth needed for some of the issues the public might need to be informed on. She advised politicians to be wary of some of the topics discussed on social media because the platform was unregulated.
“Using Twitter is really essential and any politician who cannot use Twitter or Facebook in 2015 is doomed to have a very short political life, but there has to be balance between the new and traditional media,” she said.
Political analyst Protas Madlala was unimpressed by Maimane’s Twitter Town Hall, describing it as an indication of immaturity in the leadership. “You do not go to the public and expose yourself like this. The first move is very important, that is what people will remember about you,” he said.
Madlala said Maimane should have known the public was going to respond the way it did, “make a joke out of it”.
“Most of them were enticed into social media after seeing the success of US President Barack Obama in one of the elections.
“Don’t forget that this guy always imitates Obama, even when he is speaking.
“Politicians should be very careful how they use social media because they could end up being asked things they do not want to be asked.”
Political analyst Imraan Buccus thought Maimane’s attempt to connect with the public should be welcomed.
“One of the failings of postapartheid South Africa has been the lack of participated democracy. There has been a huge disconnect between political stakeholders and communities,” he said.
“Even though the constitution, various pieces of legislation and various policy frameworks allow people to participate in the democracy, there has not been any real meaningful engagement happening over the last two decades,” he said.
Like Teer-Tomaselli, he also warned politicians to use social media responsibly.
“Maimane, the DA and other political parties who want to go this route would need to think more carefully about how it is ‘regulated’ in order to ensure that meaningful questions are asked.”
EFF MP Floyd Shivambu honed in on Maimane’s familiarity with Cape Town’s restaurants when he asked: “Where do they sell traditional food here in Cape Town?”
Another familiar politician in the Twitterverse, the Minister of Sport and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula, tweeted: “Why did Drake allow it to be too late before we read it? #ask YouKnowWho” referring to the title of the Canadian rapper’s latest album If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
Maimane was unable to respond to all the tweets that flooded his timeline, but he was clear on the DA’s race versus politics stance when GC@guillClark asked: “Honestly, how are you going to get more people to vote for you? And especially how are you gonna get the white folk?”
He responded: “We don’t mobilise on the basis of race. Our values of Freedom, Fairness, Opportunity are central to the DA.”
IT’S all about cosmopolitan meets country when the 164th Royal Show serves up a giant slice of family entertainment packed with events, displays, rides and performances from May 29 to June 7 at the Pietermaritzburg Royal Showgrounds.
The Royal livestock programmes always draw an eager and curious crowd. From proud poultry to the majestic bulls, the cream of the country’s stud animals will compete in a variety of competitions including three Royal Show national championships – Border Leicester, Hampshire Down and Suffolk.
Get down to the Old Western Farm Sheep and Wool Expo for sheep shearing, fashion shows and late-night shopping, with line dancing and live music at the weekends.
Riders competing for equestrian excellence in events including show jumping, showing, dressage, carriage driving and tent-pegging will put their steeds through their paces, hoping to take home gold.
Arabian Horse Society of Australia judge Annette Vickery will bring an international flavour to the Royal horse happenings.
Top rock entertainment includes Mathew Mole, The Parlotones, Rowan Stuart, Hinds Brothers, Bok van Blerk, Emo Adams, Lianie May and Priscilla Smith.
A magical mix of Bollywood, Hollywood and Afrikwood will delight when The Royal Afrofusion Nite takes to the stage with a multinational cast of more than 100 talented musicians, vocalists, dancers, comedians, models and top DJs.
New to the concert line-up is The Vuma FM Royal Gospel Concert. Vocalists include Tender Mavundla, Thulani Ga Ndlela, Brenda Mtambo and Khaya Mthethwa. Get classical at The Royal Symphony concert with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra on the final day of the show.
There will be entertainment for younger visitors at the KFC River Stage, including music, educational demonstrations from KZN Wildlife and the Sharks Board, the Royal Show version of Minute to Win It, Royal Duck Dash and the Royal Show Stoppers Talent Competition.
Jurassic Park comes to the show this year in the form of the Dino Expo, an interactive reconstruction dinosaurs. The expo combines a spectacular showcase of life-size replicas with a theatrical performance involving “animatronic” dinosaurs, fossil digging, tattoo stickers, drawing and much more dino doings.
For more information, visit www.royalshow.co.za