US 2012 Election Conventions And Tweeting: Do They Mesh Well?

In a bid to increase citizen engagement and get more people to say their piece about the upcoming 2012 US presidential elections, the Republican and Democratic parties have reached an agreement -- get Twitter involved. As if the entire event of getting supporters to gather in one place and formally nominate their bids for the most powerful White House seat wasn't potentially anarchic enough, in comes the micro-blogging community, where practically anything and everything is uncensored and unmediated.

National Conventions On Twitterverse

The conventions may be happening on Twitterverse, but the actual physical events gathering thousands of supporters are happening at Tampa, Florida for the Republican Party on August 27 to 30, 2012 and at Charlotte, North Carolina on September 3 to 6, 2012 for the Democratic Party. Online, Twitter users may join in on the action, both during the convention itself and even before and after it by using the hashtags #GOP2012 and #DNC2012. To further fatten up with conversation threads, the candidates' and political parties' own dedicated teams will also be feeding the hashtags with updates, soundbites and schedules.

Unmoderated Tweeting

So, whether or not you like a candidate, support a party's thrusts or just want to shake the occasion with a random thought about the elections, you have a place at these hashtags. Critics and some strategists panned the idea of bringing such an open means of communication to what should be a venue where specific actions are discussed. After all, we're talking about the government of the United States. Some say Twitter involvement in the conventions could be dangerous, as tweets are unscreened. Some say it could turn out to be a total waste of time with the hundreds, possibly, millions of disjoint tweets freely coming out, defeating its original purpose of distributing information. What is your take on this matter? Should Twitter be involved in these sorts of political events? Tell us in the comments!