Thread by @eaton

I wasn’t kidding when I said that @AOC is the apex predator of modern American politics.

https://twitter.com/lazerwalker/status/1318757687769825282

Rolling onto Twitch and playing social deduction games with constituents and having a good time in the middle of a traumatic pandemic that keeps people apart. And using the visibility *to explain how other countries’ health care system works*

Her public persona — not just in traditional media but on the fuzzier social channels — is quick, natural, and focused. She takes every opportunity possible to clarify complexity to constituents, and uses different social channels *in channel-appropriate ways*.

That last one is ridiculously rare even for well-oiled brands, let alone politicians. As the average age of the American political class creeps upward, that native comfort with (relatively) new social media is going to be a more and more significant force multiplier.

As someone who obsesses about digital comms, brand voice in a multichannel world, politics, and gaming, this moment is definitely my *ZONE*

A final though. Most campaigns and politicians — like most brands — use social media for 1) Pushing links to traditional messaging, 2) Customer support, and 3) Stunting and dunking. The latter can get you lots of engagement but is a world away from effective native communication.

I’m reminded of the kind of difference that the Cluetrain Manifesto articulated when the ~pre-social-media~ web was taking off, and traditional brands took ages to internalize that it was something different; not just a new place for existing messaging.