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Codebreaker

Obama huge in the Twitterverse

John Moe Dec 14, 2011

President Obama’s approval numbers are not exactly something to brag about. Among Twitter users, however, he is a total rock star. According to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, he has a 69% approval rating among tweeters. The same poll indicates that his approval rating is at 46% overall. Twitters tend to be younger and more left of center. So this is an interesting bit of trivia, sure, but one wonders what it will mean to the campaign in general. Having a lot of Twitter followers among his followers wouldn’t necessarily mean a platform to convert new voters but in terms of organization and the disseminating of messaging, it could prove to be an enormous advantage.

Other data from the poll:

Linked-In, a social-media tool aimed at professionals, may also be a pool for Obama re-election organizers.

Among Linked-In users, 52% approve of the president’s performance, compared with 45% who disapprove. The survey identified no analogous Republican-leaning social-media venue.

The poll showed how pervasive social media has become. Sixty-one percent of women say they use Facebook, as do 79% of adults under age 35.

Fifty-seven percent of Hispanics use Facebook, while African Americans are well represented on Twitter. Some 14% of black adults say they tweet, double the percentage of whites.

 

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