Old
President Nelson Mandela's (93) health scares this weekend send Twitter into
overdrive. South African officials made savvier use of social media to keep the
world informed on the global icon's latest medical condition.ttp://twitter.com/#!/sapresident
"It's
a sign of a modern government embracing a modern era. The government has been
more organised this time, and their social media activities are an example of
that," said Matthew Buckland, publisher of South African technology trend
site Memeburn.
"By
the presidency breaking the news themselves and releasing the statement on
Twitter, people followed by retweeting the presidency's statement and referring
back to this as the original source of the news," he said.
What
I find interesting, and relevant, is the mental exercise – thinking back four to
five years, before Facebook, Twitter and social media and we will realise how
those mediums have, and continue, to radically change the relationship between
government and citizens.
When
we consider how the government treated Mandela’s hospitalised last year for a
respiratory infection, a virtual news blackout sparked panic in a public
relations blunder for those handling the legacy of one of the world's
best-known people.(http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Nelson-Mandela-Security-stepped-up-at-hospital-20110126)
We
can this time around argue that the presidency took control, announcing his
admission and giving an update, it is about realizing that your voters might just be a step ahead!
