Fast forward one election lost and a party recovering from "social media whiplash" and guess we learn that Senator McCain is doing a "Twitterview" with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
Forget the politics and consider this: the oldest man to ever run for president, who just 8 months ago was "learning to get online", is now going to get interviewed and limit himself to answers that are 140 characters or less.
The first thing I have to wonder is whether he is going to be actually answering the questions or if there is going to be some younger whipper-snapper condensing into Twitter-speak. Can one go from no email to thinking in 140 characters in under a year, after a lifetime of pens and ink?
I certainly think so. And as an industry, this should make us take notice. As a Gen Yer, I have to wonder if there's anywhere left to hide. The fastest growing population on Facebook are 50 somethings. They long ago took over MySpace. I wonder if John McCain knows how to text message? Maybe we can hide out in mobile for a while...
Who knows how the interview will go tomorrow or how many )questions will actually get answered, but if you are as curious as me, you can follow it here at noon eastern tomorrow.
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3 comments:
Miriam, nice post!! It's amazing what a short attention span we all have cos as you point out, just a few months ago McCain was criticized for his lack of understanding of technology and now he's Tweeting like a pro. So what did you think of the interview?
Great post!! Not only are 50 somethings engaging in social media to connect with their children or grandchildren, but they are looking at social media to build and promote their professional knowledge and experiences. Having an online presence creates value for 50 somethings facing a loss of employment or career change.
Maybe the better question is, why are you hiding?
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