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@BarackObama is on Twitter. So is @MittRomney . And so are all the voters following the 2012 presidentialcontest, whether they know it or not. Candidates, strategists, journalists and political junkies have allflocked to Twitter, the social networking hub where informationfrom the mundane to the momentous is shared through 140-charactermicrobursts known as tweets. While relatively few voters are on Twitter a study by the PewResearch Center found that about 13 per cent of American adultshave joined the site it's become an essential tool for campaignsto test-drive themes and make news with a group of politicallywired "influencers" who process and share those messages with thebroader world. Put simply: When a voter is exposed to any information related tothe presidential contest, chances are it's been through the Twitterfilter first. 'Teach your parents how to tweet!' Barack Obama "The subset of people on Twitter may be relatively small, but it'sa politically engaged audience whose influence extends both onlineand off," said Heather LaMarre, a University of Minnesotacommunications professor who studies social media. "It's not thedirect message that has the biggest influence on people it's theindirect message." No one believes the campaign will be won or lost on Twitter it'sjust one slice of an enormous communication effort the presidentialcampaigns are waging in cyberspace. But with a well-timed140-character blast, candidates influence coverage, respond tocharges or reinforce talking points. This, of course, is not the first time technology has changed theway campaigns are conducted. Radio, TV and the internet allprompted campaigns to adapt, giving both more avenues to reachvoters and more control of their message. But radio and televisionare top-down mediums at heart from the broadcaster to thepublic. Never before has a grassroots technology like Twitter givenboth voice and power to millions and given candidates areal-time way to monitor the effects of their messages andrecalibrate on the fly. And that means an ever-changing campaign narrative for 2012. Twitter relatively insignificant in 2008 Four years ago, Twitter was still in relative infancy and just 1.8million tweets were sent on Election Day 2008. Now, Twitter getsthat many approximately every eight minutes. Obama's 2012 State of the Union address drew 800,000 tweets,Twitter said. And tweets mentioning Rick Santorum jumped from 10-20per minute to over 2,500 tweets per minute when news broke that hewas suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have actively embraced Twitter,using it to communicate directly with supporters and, moreimportantly, drive the political conversation in a way that reachesfar beyond the site. They're also mindful of the hazards ofTwitter, designating war room staffers to monitor the site forproblems to address or gaffes from their rivals to exploit. "Our team understands that the most important issues in thiscampaign are jobs and the economy, not the Twitter controversy ofthe day," Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said. "But we need to beon top of everything and monitor every aspect of this race. Twitterhelps us keep our finger on the pulse of the fast moving pace ofnew media. Obama campaign showcases hypothetical woman #Julia Twitter's impact was on vivid display last week. Obama, warning a college audience that interest rates on theirfederal student loans could double if Congress doesn't act soon,urged students to make their voices heard on Twitter. "Tweet them! Teach your parents how to tweet!" Obama said, askingthem to add the hashtag #dontdoublemyrate. The Obama campaign's introduction of a campaign tool named Juliaalso showcased what both parties will do to get the last word onTwitter. The Obama team unveiled an interactive slideshow on its websiteshowing a hypothetical woman named Julia whom the campaign sayswould benefit from the president's policies throughout her life. "Follow Julia from age 3 to 67," the Obama campaign tweeted with alink to the tool all but guaranteeing a level of buzz amongTwitter users that then spilled into other social media and intoreporters' stories. Republicans, for their part, moved quickly on Twitter to respond tying Julia to the persistent weak economy. "Did u tell #Julia how much debt you left her?" Republican NationalCommittee spokesman Sean Spicer tweeted. "Based on today's bad unemployment report, it appears that Juliahas given up looking for work," former George W. Bush spokesman AriFleischer tweeted after Friday's unemployment figures showed tepidjob growth. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Lpg Gas Cylinder , Lp Gas Valve for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Camping Gas Cylinders.
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