Last week Gordon Brown was under fire again, but this time being mocked for his most recent, and slightly uncomfortable post on YouTube.

His direct addresses on the Number 10 channel answer current public concerns and questions put to him from YouTube users. This provides a great opportunity for him to show a more human side, and is an excellent tactic for communicating with hard-to-reach groups such as young, up-and-coming voters.

Social media use in politics has recently become a major success story for Obama’s online campaign for the US presidency. His online presence was everywhere – YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook. Social media enabled Obama to have direct engagement with the American public, and was a channel for him to present himself as an ‘ordinary’ person; having dinner with people in the community who have sponsored his campaign.

His use of social media encouraged the public to sign up to receive live election news, through their social media profiles and mobile phones - a clever promise to engage with voters on a personal level.

And hats off to Number 10 for also embracing social media as an instant portal to the British public, but some considerations do need to be made when using it.

After negative public comments on the Number 10 YouTube channel, the option to comment on posts was disabled. Taking a few tactics from Obama’s book, such as better message delivery by Gordon Brown and welcoming comment and debates, could be more successful in encouraging wider public engagement.

With social media, YouTube especially, being used mainly for entertainment purposes, it’s inevitable that the number of unfavourable videos of Gordon; picking his nose and ‘running like a big girl’, will outnumber those posted by Number 10, and will receive thousands more views.

With the rise in social media interest from British politics and such a growing political online forum, could Obama’s winning online campaign be a taste of what’s to come in the next general election? Here’s hoping.

Posted by Sally Barr