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Thursday evening I was a panellist at a @lseei event in Berlin entitled "Social Media and the Politicisation of European Politics: Curse or Blessing?"
Other panellists were @Kai_Whittaker @ur_echo @kleine_m @lonanglo
Here's LSE's tweet about the event
Other panellists were @Kai_Whittaker @ur_echo @kleine_m @lonanglo
Here's LSE's tweet about the event
In this thread I will focus on one of the panellists - @Kai_Whittaker - and what he said at the event, and his social media behaviour afterwards, and what it tells us about the @rezomusik mess the CDU has found itself in.
Kai is a CDU Member of the Bundestag, a LSE alumnus (so ought to be sharp), and is 34 years old.
In terms of the use of digital tools he should be at least as much a digital native as I am.
In terms of the use of digital tools he should be at least as much a digital native as I am.
At the event he was happy to slam Twitter as a network - in Germany it is only full of journalists and trolls, he said.
And he railed about bad behaviour of people online and how young people needed to learn how to behave online.
And he railed about bad behaviour of people online and how young people needed to learn how to behave online.
So how, I wondered, would Kai himself behave towards the rest of us panellists on Twitter?
I tweeted a few things to him to provide context to my comments at the event:
I tweeted a few things to him to provide context to my comments at the event:
His reaction to any of those?
None
I told him over a 🍷 at the event I had followed him on Twitter. Follow back?
No
@kleine_m also followed him at the event. Follow back?
No
None
I told him over a 🍷 at the event I had followed him on Twitter. Follow back?
No
@kleine_m also followed him at the event. Follow back?
No
Now don't get me wrong - I am no Rezo. I do not have the reach Rezo has. But I do have more than 20x the followers he has.
I am not in his party. But on Brexit, UK-EU and even digital comms, we ought to have interests in common. Enough for a mutual follow at least.
But no.
I am not in his party. But on Brexit, UK-EU and even digital comms, we ought to have interests in common. Enough for a mutual follow at least.
But no.
Kai also - at the end of his comments - was dismissive of the power that Mesut Özil can wield on Instagram. "He has 25 million followers or something - thank goodness he doesn't express his views on politics!"
It's 20 million, but you get the idea instagram.com/m10_official/
It's 20 million, but you get the idea instagram.com/m10_official/
(Meanwhile the pictures of the witnesses at Özil's wedding did not appear on Instagram politico.eu/article/erdoga… )
But back to Kai Whittaker.
Who is he to criticise Özil or whoever else for using the channels they have to communicate the way they do?
I might not like Özil's views of Erdoğan but we cannot bemoan him expressing them.
Who is he to criticise Özil or whoever else for using the channels they have to communicate the way they do?
I might not like Özil's views of Erdoğan but we cannot bemoan him expressing them.
Same for Rezo - sure, disagree with what he said in the famous video, but you cannot complain he said it.
This in the end is about power, and the power of the old political elite. Keep politicians doing politics, and entertainers just entertaining.
This in the end is about power, and the power of the old political elite. Keep politicians doing politics, and entertainers just entertaining.
So @Kai_Whittaker and others with your outdated views:
Don't bemoan the changes. Live with them.
Don't complain about bad online behaviour, then blank people who tweet you.
Develop the attitudes - honesty, authenticity, openness - those are what makes Rezo interesting!
/ends
Don't bemoan the changes. Live with them.
Don't complain about bad online behaviour, then blank people who tweet you.
Develop the attitudes - honesty, authenticity, openness - those are what makes Rezo interesting!
/ends
