President Obama embraced social media as a candidate and he won the presidency. So naturally the Republican candidates in this election will use Facebook in in their quests for the big job.
According to Reuters, NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Facebook are teaming up to simulcast a Republican Presidential primary debate on the Sunday before next year’s New Hampshire primary. The establishment love fest will be moderated by “Meet the Press” host David Gregory; the debate will be aired on NBC, MSNBC, Facebook and the New England Cable News.
“This is sure to add a groundbreaking new chapter to the rich history of ‘Meet the Press’ political debates,” Steve Capus, president of NBC News, said in a statement. “What really sets this partnership apart is that we are able to combine the reach of NBC’s audiences and Facebook’s users to connect with engaged, informed communities.”
Whether or not Facebook is creating an informed community is up for debate. They have been accused of censoring links and media by many users in the past.
NBC and Facebook have not discussed the details of the debate yet. As of now there is no telling how technology and social interaction will be used in the event.
However the press release did say it would be an “innovative, multi-platform forum” where voters and viewers will have the ability to react and discuss inside of their online communities.
It sounds like it might be similar to the Twitter town hall, social media will be used but probably only in limited capacity. The reactions of viewers and voters online could likely be used at different times during the debate, maybe even to formulate new questions.
It appears that Facebook is now a major political player. Only time will tell how much bigger their role in politics will get.
