New Zealand Parliamentarians and Online Social Media

14 February 2011

SUMMARY

• The majority of New Zealand members of Parliament (MPs) have at least one online social media account on the most popular online social media sites used by New Zealanders.

• Online social media influenced the 2008 New Zealand General Election campaign, and is likely to impact more upon future election campaigns.

• Online social media can facilitate better engagement and communication between MPs and the general public.

Introduction

This paper defines online social media and briefly notes Internet usage in New Zealand before focusing on the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by MPs. The use of online social media in campaigning, its influence and instances of online public interaction is examined. Finally, possible future trends are discussed.

Full report: NZParliamentariansandonlinesocialmediapdf1.pdf