Macedonian Politicians 'Missing the Point' on Facebook

Instead of instigating real discussions and direct communication with the wider public and undecided voters, politicians have turned their profiles into walls full of slander, political paroles and dull party statements that attract only hard core political fans, they said.

Internet consultant and communication sciences expert Darko Buldioski told Balkan Insight on Wednesday: “We usually see one -directional messages that are intended for semi-closed circles of consumers.”

Short messages like “God protect you, our savior” or “You are our sun” are predominant on the wall of Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Another concerned fan wrote “Brother and sisters, send more invitations to your friends as it would be a shame if the commies [meaning the Social Democrats] garner more fans than us”.

The profile of Branko Crvenkovski, the leader of the Social Democratic Union, SDSM, and former president, is also full of political pamphlets and messages of support. But among those are messages discrediting the party leader.

Davorin Trpeski, a lecturer of anthropology at the Skopje state university told Balkan Insight that “the profiles of politicians are mainly used for keeping the tension and for gathering their own supporters close around them”.

“There is no real discussion. Only slander and petty quarrels as in real life,” Trpeski notes.

Trpeski said many of the politicians open Facebook profiles in a bid to appear trendy, and not out of a real understanding of the potential the sites offer.

Recently the Social Democrats proudly told a press conference that their leader Crvenkovski has drawn some 25,000 fans on his profile.

VMRO DPMNE was quick to respond, boasting that the PM and their head, Nikola Gruevski, have kept the lead with 27,000 people who are his fans.

“Our politicians usually lack strategy on how to use social networks, so often they take wrong parameters as a measurement of success” Buldioski said, noting that, on the net, sheer quantity does not mean much.

Ilija Aceski, a professor of sociology at the Skopje state university, pinpoints the overall low level of political discussion in the country.

“The political monologues from the other more conventional media find their way on the internet as well,” Aceski says.

“The politicians are usually closed for the public, so Facebook is just a reflection of their real profile,” he says.

Observers note that for a successful Facebook strategy, the parties need to employ fully dedicated PR teams and moderators who will try to appeal to the common people with more common discussions.

They note the example of US President Barack Obama, whose PR advisers successfully used Facebook for the last presidential campaign, bringing the then presidential candidate closer to the public and explaining his positions and policies.