Elizabeth Linder Spoke about Benefits of Using Facebook for Journalists and Politicians (Part II)

Elizabeth Linder, Facebook’s Politics & Government Specialist for Europe, Middle East & Africa, explained this week to students of the School of Advanced Journalism in Chisinau (SAJ) the benefits of using Facebook for work purposes. She referred, in particular, to the differences between Facebook - considered a network for ordinary people - and Twitter - considered a tool for journalists and politicians.

Journalists and Facebook

“Two things are starting to change: Facebook now allows journalists to be more efficient by adding <<hashtags>> (i.e. keywords preceeded by # symbol, a system originally implemented by Twitter), so it is easier to collect information by searching a specific word. Also, most people on Facebook are using their real names, so tjournalists can identify and verify their sources,” Linder said.

Asked whether the posting of journalistic materials on Facebook will cut revenues for reporters who adopt this method, Linder said it was not the case. “We should not post the news itself (i.e. on Facebook), the goal is to attract people’s attention and lead them to the respective story,” the expert said.

She added that if journalists posted only the links to the websites that publish news, people would access those links and see the advertisments on the respective portal. “This means the revenue for the media company, which will afford to pay the journalist,” Linder added. She also said it was important for journalists to distinguish between the news reports out of which they want to get money and the small "clues" or pieces of information which they want to post for free in order to increase their visibility and popularity.

Politicians and Facebook

In a separate event on the same day, Elizabeth Linder made a joke saying that the greatest tragedy in American history was that Thomas Jefferson (the third president of the United States) didn't have a Facebook account, because his dream was to have a direct relation with citizens. “Politicians need to communicate more on Facebook to hold power. If they only talk to private consultants, it is the fastest way to lose power,” Linder said.

The specialist emphasized that social networks are useful tools for the world leaders, because the latter can inspire and can find new ideas for initiating reforms. Linder said that the Austrian minister for women's issues invited citizens from Facebook to give her some suggestions. As a result of this action and posted comments, the minister came up with an application for victims of domestic violence. Also, a study published in New Zealand showed that social media have a real impact on political life.

More and more politicians are also using Facebook to “humanize” their public image. Linder showed that Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, posts poems on his personal page, making people’s interaction with him less formal.

Elizabeth Linder is in Chisinau within October 22nd to 24th, participating in various meetings with representatives of the Government, media, civil society and entrepreneurs.