Queensland election gets the digital touch

The Queensland state election has been a pretty one-sided affair so far and thus rather boring but one interesting angle has been the role of digital influence. Two interesting things I have been able to find so far are a brilliant video taking the proverbial out of Peter Beattie on YouTube, including by pasting his head on the body of an S&M dominatrix. Who said politics was boring. Also, the Queensland National Party candidate for the seat of Toowoomba North, Lyle Shelton has started a blog, championed by the master blogger Senator Andrew Bartlett of the Democrat Party. Bring it on, let’s see more state and federal pollies getting in on the digital influence act. Any more out there?

Is Sunrise's Mel scared about that online stuff?

The co-anchor of Channel 7’s popular Sunrise program, Melissa Doyle, has repeatedly emphasised her ignorance of digital influence. Mel did a story on a Tasmanian teenager who featured on a video website, had her computer hacked and her privacy invaded. Mel’s comments were about how she didn’t really know about that online stuff. The Director of Sunrise, Ken Moore, when asked what was on his ipod said, “I don’t own one, I love my cd collection.” No problem on its own, yet these people are at the forefront of media in Australia. This is also a concern when you consider that Channel 7 is part of the Yahoo! group, one of the world’s biggest online companies.

Yes, Minister Downer

Even Australia’s beloved Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer is struggling with digital influence. The Australian reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross has criticised Minister Downer for relying on an unchecked internet blog to justify claims that an Israeli bombing of an ambulance was a Lebanese hoax. Minister Downer accused the ICRC and some of the world's most respected media, including Time magazine and The New York Times, of falling for the hoax.

What is Enderverse?

Hi everyone

Having just returned from 5-6 years based in Asia, I have spent the past months reconnecting with Australia. This included catching up with family and friends, a new job with Parker & Partners and catching up on all things public policy and political. Given my dearly beloved remained behind in Jakarta finishing her work to enable access to justice for the poor, I decided to build a blog.

In our world of internet, mobile devices, MySpace, speeds, feeds and more, many are struggling to understand what the hell these blogs are. But being proud of your ignorance of the digital world is like telling racist jokes because you think you are bucking political correctness. C’mon, everyone is still learning, so just jump in and get started or get left behind! I hope this small blog will help you unearth a bit more about growing space of digital influence on attitudes, behaviours and policies.

All of us are trying to come to terms with the impact of digital influence and realise they need to know more about it. One way to do this is to check out this short video called ‘Citizen Journalism: From Pamphlet to Blog’. It will give you an overview of some key digital influence trends.

I penned (yes not typed) a rough definition of digital influence on the back of an envelope on the plane the other day - let me know what you think..."Digital influence is the individual and collective power of electronic, mobile and virtual sources of influence that change attitudes, behaviours and policies". Treat that as a work in progress.

I will update this blog on average every week so if you would like to get the latest updates directly on your email then please subscribe to the list. Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested.

f you have something to share on digital influence, please let me know...nickgoodwin@gmail.com

Cheers

Nick