Congress has a love/hate relationship with new media

A recent article from the LA Times discusses the love affair Congress Members have with Twitter. American’s politicians are using Twitter to communicate with staff, constituents and effectively campaign for themselves.  For once Congress seems to be ahead of the curve, in a recent survey of advertisers:

Almost half of the 1,015 advertisers polled said that Twitter use will grow exponentially over the next few years, compared with just 12% of consumers who felt the same. One-fifth of…….advertisers and 12% of consumers say Twitter is just something for young people, which contradicts a much-publicized report by a Morgan Stanley intern arguing the opposite. If McCain and his 150 fellow Congressional Twitterers, according to Tweet Congress, are any indication of the website’s audience, it’s not a young person’s game. -via Is Congress the ultimate ad agency with Twitter? | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times.

Recently we had a conversation with Nancy Tarr, whom we hope will play a major role within#NMP, about this phenomenon. The very people who will have to decide on important legislation in the coming future regarding this space are still trying to understand how to use social media. The simple fact is, Congress (members and staff) are in this torrid love hate relationship with the reality that Twitter, YouTube, live streaming from your mobile device, is making the world and policy making more accessible and transparent.

The major question is: Do we want Congress to be an ad agency for new media?

You can see why politicians would love social media as it provides an affordable way to directly communicate with constituents (and voters) as well as hate lack of message control. The concern we have here at #NMP is that policy makers who will be crafting policy and legislation that effect new media usage barely understand how to use this technology and will be influenced by their own skewed experiences and investors in the technology; not those who are avid consumers, producers, and disseminators of new media content.

We can not let the weary concerned politicians, the ambivalent Congressional staffers, or the venture capital firms who want to protect their investments have a solitary voice over the rights of the social media community.

We must continue to drive this conversation from the consumers’ point of view.  Lend your voice and opinions to this blog…what are your concerns?  How do you view regulations that will affect how we use new media?