Michael Fabricant MP
Michael Fabricant MP

Now I’m no Bill Shakespeare, but I’d like to think my Twitter page has a point and some (occasionally useful) chat. Michael Fabricant’s on the other hand… I’ll let you decide.

I think it’s well done to Lichfield’s favourite hair-do for getting with the times and trying to engage with his constituents in new and diverse ways. But therein lies the problem. His Twitter page doesn’t seem to be anything other than the random thoughts of the man himself.

Twitter is a social media and social it should be. It’s enabled this blog to move from strength to strength for one.

A colleague of mine once discussed the key to social networking as being “social currency” – ie, giving some discussion out to get something back and I’ve certainly found that to be the case.

But in our MP’s case we just have a series of random thoughts which don’t seem to serve a purpose other than to provide the Lichfield Mercury with the odd story.

So come on, Mike, start interacting. Three hundred and eight of us follow you but you follow just four folks. Start giving us something and we’ll give you something back, most likely on polling day.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.

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Nick B
15 years ago

Just received a response from the main man himself,
“Interesting. I am not sure what Twitter is all about really in the sense that I don’t know who is following me on it and I can’t keep interacting – I have a job to do! I regard Facebook as far more important.”

Well there you have it!

Phil
15 years ago

A Twitter purist (if such a thing exists) might say that he is using Twitter exactly how it was intended – to update your followers on what he’s doing.

I can understand his concerns about getting his work done. I was swamped a few weeks ago and had to do a cull to get rid of anybody I was following that didn’t add significant value.

It’s been said many times that everybody uses Twitter in different ways, here’s another example.

steph
15 years ago

Yes but does he really want/have time to read about smelly cheese and what shoes i wanted to wear today but couldn’t because it was too cold? Is he really getting a view on his constituents?

I don’t follow many people because i don’t want to have to sit and read hundreds of tweets everyday; presumably Michael Fabricant was also just following the people he himself was interested in. And partly why i like following Michael Fabricant is because he doesn’t update very often.

Phil
15 years ago

Following everyone who follows him or who lives in Lichfield will be more likely to just overload his Twitterstream and give him more to read when only a small proportion is of any value to him.

Instead, raising awareness of his presence on Twitter will encourage people to @reply him and he can respond. Like Steph says he doesn’t want to hear about our wardrobe dilemmas and eating habits.

He can easily track keywords like “Lichfield” too, to make sure he catches important stuff. I’ve offered to sit down with him and show him how he could use Twitter more efficiently/effectively. Let’s see if he takes up the offer…

Michael Fabricant
15 years ago

Look, I am sorry about this but I just don’t get Twitter! Stephen Fry follows over 54,000 tweeters. How can that be? How does he find the time to click on 54,000 individual names in the first place to follow them and how can he possibly read them? The answer is: he doesn’t; he can’t!

Most of the tweets I am receiving are random observations and being constrained to just 140 words is pretty limiting.

If you want to interact with me, do it on Facebook – a much better forum I believe. Anyway, I enjoy Facebook and it seems to work for me!

And I am not a thick skinned politico! I DO want to react with my lovely Lichfield, but I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that Twitter isn’t the answer. (And to knock me because I don’t have the time all day to read hundreds of tweets unlike you sums up the difference between your life and mine. So there!)

Michael Fabricant
15 years ago

I meant ‘140 letters’ !!!

Nick B
15 years ago

Ouch.

emma
15 years ago

Mr Fabricant,
If thats the way you deal with one of your constituents by basically saying that their lives are nothing compared to yours, then its no wonder people have the opinions they do about you!

Michael Fabricant
15 years ago

Ooops. I am not saying I am better or less than anyone emma. All I am saying is I don’t have the time to read loads of tweets. Fact. But that’s the way it is. But as anyone will tell you who has written to me with a problem, me and my team deal with it thoroughly. That’s what I am here for.

Now, How do I get my picture on these comments?????

The Lichfield Blog » Blog Archive » Michael Fabricant’s Twittercism - part two
15 years ago

[…] Seems I wasn’t the only person who was a bit underwhelmed by Michael Fabricant’s Twittering. […]

deepinder
15 years ago

The Tories are not so much a political party, but are in fact a species.

I would have emphasised the last word in italics, but I dunno how to do it.

Michael Fabricant
15 years ago

How do I register for this blog?? I haven’t spotted any link or instruction on how to register.

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