The big news this week was the U.S. Congress passing a bill to raise the debt ceiling, thereby saving the U.S. from defaulting on its outstanding debt and potentially causing a second recession.
Here, we’ll take a look at what role social played in avoiding financial ruin, as well as allegations that presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich bought his Twitter following and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s take on U.S. history. This is the Week in Politics & Digital.
Debt Bill Passes, Some Blood on the Floor
On August 2, President Obama signed a bill to raise the debt ceiling — just hours ahead of the deadline. The country breathed a sigh of relief, but the bill didn’t come without some headaches. Days earlier, Obama and his staff asked people to tweet using the hashtag #compromise and preceeded to post Twitter info of GOP lawmakers in every state.
The feedback was largely negative with followers claiming the president was spamming their accounts. In total, @BarackObama lost more than 36,000 followers.
Still, despite the criticism, a White House aide claims that the Twitter campaign helped get the debt bill passed.
Did Gingrich Buy Bots to Follow Him on Twitter?
Newt Gingrich may not be a front runner for the Republican presidential nomination, but at least he has all those Twitter followers, right?
With 1.3 million followers, Gingrich has more than any other Republican candidate. But a former staffer claims Gingrich paid “follow” agencies to create fake Twitter accounts that follow him. The anonymous staffer told Gawker that 80% of Gingrich’s followers are fake; a quick scan revealed many accounts that have never tweeted or have no profile picture and bio info.
A follow up by PeekYou revealed that only 8% of Gingrich’s followers are actually human.
This of course doesn’t prove Gingrich paid a firm and it still leaves him with an enviable 100,000 real followers.
Learn History From Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has co-founded Learn Our History, a site aimed at teaching important events in American history to a young demographic. One lesson, for example, provides a digital re-enactment of 9/11 and the War on Terror.
The videos cost $10 each and are meant to correct “our children’s classes and learning materials [that] are often filled with misrepresentations, including historical inaccuracies, personal biases and political correctness.”
What do you think of this week’s big stories in digital and politics? Sound off in the comments.
More About: #compromise, barack obama, debt, Debt Ceiling, debt ceiling bill, education, mike huckabee, newt gingrich, politics, week in digital politicsFor more Social Media coverage:Follow Mashable Social Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Social Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:56:08 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/LHodr6GbGF0/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/05/week-in-digital-politics-14/#comments
Here, we’ll take a look at what role social played in avoiding financial ruin, as well as allegations that presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich bought his Twitter following and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s take on U.S. history. This is the Week in Politics & Digital.
Debt Bill Passes, Some Blood on the Floor
On August 2, President Obama signed a bill to raise the debt ceiling — just hours ahead of the deadline. The country breathed a sigh of relief, but the bill didn’t come without some headaches. Days earlier, Obama and his staff asked people to tweet using the hashtag #compromise and preceeded to post Twitter info of GOP lawmakers in every state.
The feedback was largely negative with followers claiming the president was spamming their accounts. In total, @BarackObama lost more than 36,000 followers.
Still, despite the criticism, a White House aide claims that the Twitter campaign helped get the debt bill passed.
Did Gingrich Buy Bots to Follow Him on Twitter?
Newt Gingrich may not be a front runner for the Republican presidential nomination, but at least he has all those Twitter followers, right?
With 1.3 million followers, Gingrich has more than any other Republican candidate. But a former staffer claims Gingrich paid “follow” agencies to create fake Twitter accounts that follow him. The anonymous staffer told Gawker that 80% of Gingrich’s followers are fake; a quick scan revealed many accounts that have never tweeted or have no profile picture and bio info.
A follow up by PeekYou revealed that only 8% of Gingrich’s followers are actually human.
This of course doesn’t prove Gingrich paid a firm and it still leaves him with an enviable 100,000 real followers.
Learn History From Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has co-founded Learn Our History, a site aimed at teaching important events in American history to a young demographic. One lesson, for example, provides a digital re-enactment of 9/11 and the War on Terror.
The videos cost $10 each and are meant to correct “our children’s classes and learning materials [that] are often filled with misrepresentations, including historical inaccuracies, personal biases and political correctness.”
What do you think of this week’s big stories in digital and politics? Sound off in the comments.
More About: #compromise, barack obama, debt, Debt Ceiling, debt ceiling bill, education, mike huckabee, newt gingrich, politics, week in digital politicsFor more Social Media coverage:Follow Mashable Social Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Social Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:56:08 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/LHodr6GbGF0/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/05/week-in-digital-politics-14/#comments