Land of the Free, Home of the Tweet?

Agenda Setting Theory was put forth by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972. This theory suggests that the media sets the public agenda. It is not a matter of what is being said in the media, but what topics or stories should be talked about. With social media on the rise, it seems there may be a shift from power of the media to power of the people, so what does this mean for politicians?

I would first advise politicians to utilize social media carefully. It may sound silly, but as a public figure you are already under a microscope and an individuals credibility can easily be damaged if used frivolously. Your mother wasn’t kidding when she said, “don’t post it on social media unless you want it on the front page of the newspaper.”

Today, politics in general have taken over social media allowing social media users to join the open-ended conversation. Another piece of advice I would offer to politicians is to utilize social media but to do so strategically and keep their personal life out of the conversation. Social media is so instantaneous that one post can hinder credibility and opinions and personal life can quickly get tied into the media agenda or what is being talked about.

With agenda setting power shifting toward consumers, politicians certainly should check themselves before they wreck themselves.

 

References

McCombs, M. (2003). The agenda-setting role of the mass media in the shaping of public opinion. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved from http://www.infoamerica.org/documentos_pdf/mccombs01.pdf

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How Politicians can Win Like The Migos

It’s 2018 and not many people are winning like the Migos. .@Migos' "Culture II" debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart https://t.co/Pne5KL3R4D pic.twitter.com/jwXDxe1KwL — billboard hip-hop (@billboardhiphop) February 5, 2018 Quavo, Takeoff and Offset have been seriously killing the game (experiencing huge success for those who don’t know the vernacular) and, while […]

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Catch-11 on Twitter for successful politicians

Social media is a special form of mass communication with some features of interpersonal communication. According to Agenda Setting Theory, Twitter, as a social media, exerts significant influence on what users consider to be the major issues. If you want to be a successful politician, you need to learn some new strategies to connect public awareness positively with your policies,  views, and image.

1.Twitter frequently, even though there is nothing important to twitter. You are the one that readers should always think about. Use all methods to increase your followers.

2.Use clear and concise tags to post new issues so that your readers can think about and talk about them conveniently.

3.Set new agendas to make readers forget previous detrimental agendas and to remind them of previous beneficial agendas for you.

4.Twitter issues which are more related to your successful experience and to your opponent’s unsuccessful experience.

5.In politics, lies might not become truth, but repeating lies can make readers think about your angle of thinking and doubt about truth.

6.Express your explicit attitude toward public events as existing agendas immediately after it happens. If you don’t express immediately, your opponent’s voice will be heard by your readers.

7.Utilize social hot events as opportunities of setting agendas that connect readers’ personal life with your political assertion.

8.Give readers the most available information, the easiest cases, and the clearest causal explanation for agendas.

9.Show a personalized, not a distant image which can persuade readers to talk with you about agendas.

10.Stress “key words” which can help readers remember your agendas. The key words should echo your policy assertion and your personal image.

11. Use personalized and clear words for expressing your attitude about agendas because readers need a clear target to discuss.

 

 

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Social Networking Can Eliminate the Gap Between Leaders and Supporters

Information spreads faster than wildfire these days. Thanks to the rising popularity of social media. However, politicians in Bangladesh are not utilizing the social media for organizing their supporters and promoting their agendas. As per  Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw,  news treatment in mass media can determine the main agendas of a political […]

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