Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Costolo says 2012 is 'Twitter election' year

Twitter CEO Costolo says political candidates will need to use the popular social network to win elections

If political candidates want to make any traction in this year's election, they better use Twitter, says Dick Costolo, CEO of the social networking firm.

Costolo, speaking at the All Things D high-tech conference in Laguna Niguel, California Monday night, predicted that the Twitter social network will play a key role in this year's presidential election.

"Gosh, I really think 2012 is going to be the Twitter election ," said Costolo, according to a report on CNN.com.

Politicians have increasingly used social networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, especially since 2008 when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama schooled other candidates on the benefits of social media.

Since then, using social networks to educate potential voters, organize volunteers and bring in donations has more and more become a part of the political process.

Costolo said candidates can mold their images by using Twitter.

In an on-stage interview with All Things D media editor Peter Kafka, Twitter's CEO noted that the majority of the Republican candidates for president this year are buying Promoted Tweets . In fact, he said, a "significant portion" of Twitter's 2012 ad sales will come from political ads. "They're buying ads ... and they're going to continue to do it," Costolo said, according to a report in VentureBeat .

Costolo noted that Obama's joke about "crying over spilled milk" during last week's State of the Union address quickly inspired more than 14,000 tweets per minute, highlighting Twitter's ability to take the real-time temperature of the political landscape, VentureBeat reported.

"Candidates that don't participate on Twitter while the conversation is happening, will be left behind," he said.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin , or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her e-mail address is sgaudin@computerworld.com .

Read more about web 2.0 and web apps in Computerworld's Web 2.0 and Web Apps Topic Center.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: CNN, Facebook, Google, NN, Topic
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: cnn, Facebook, Google, government, Government/Industries, internet, twitter, Web 2.0 and Web Apps, youtube
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • 10 Mobile Security Requirements for the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Enterprise
    An enterprise mobility strategy needs to include more than the provisioning and security services available through mobile application and MDM solutions. To meet the mobility and security requirements of mobile users, enterprises need to look at deploying a solution for mobile content management (MCM) that supports BYOD policies. Read this whitepaper to learn: Why provisioning for mobile users has become more complex; Ten requirements to consider when selecting a mobile content security solution.
    Learn more »
  • Email Encryption/Decryption and Signing integrated into a comprehensive content security solution
    Clearswift’s SECURE Email Gateway provides an easy to use approach to providing secure email conversations. The technology enables customers to provide the privacy, authenticity and integrity of the communication that secure messaging offers, but without the complexity and high administration cost of other systems. The Clearswift SECURE Email Gateway with integrated encryption technology enables business to communicate with confidence and protects them from the risk of sensitive data loss.
    Learn more »
  • Staying Secure and Preventing Data Leaks in a Cloud-obsessed World
    If your organisation is to benefit from this explosive growth, it needs to be able to exploit all that the cloud has to offer. But at the same time, it is vital to protect your company’s employees, networks, data and reputation from the risks that exist in the cloud.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.