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- According to Pew Research Center, only one fifth of American adults uses Twitter.
- Twitter Spaces, the audio-only chatroom on Twitter.com, is used by fewer users.
- It's not clear why DeSantis decided to run for president using the app that is deteriorating.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will launch his presidential campaign on Twitter Spaces Wednesday night. DeSantis could make a costly error as he starts his uphill battle to win the Republican nomination.
Three key reasons:
Most voters don't use Twitter
Most American presidential candidates start their campaigns by holding an event, inviting TV cameras and getting on television.
DeSantis, however, is forgoing the conventional strategy and choosing to launch his campaign on an app that most Americans do not even use. This feature was so unfamiliar to even the power users of Twitter, the New York Times had to publish a story on Wednesday entitled "DeSantis Selected Twitter Spaces to Announce Her Run." What is it?
Twitter Spaces is missing visuals
The presidential candidates should be as visible as they can, particularly at their launch. Gaffes can sometimes sink campaigns. Just ask the former Massachusetts governor. Michael Dukakis, who thought it was a good idea to take a photo in a tank and torpedo his campaign, made a mistake. DeSantis must be as visible as possible, especially as he falls further behind Donald Trump's former presidency in the Republican primary polls.
The event will only be audio based unless Twitter adds video streaming capability to Twitter Spaces before the launch — a difficult task for a firm that has lost most of its engineering staff since Elon Musk's takeover.
Since Musk's takeover, Twitter Spaces also has its problems. In December 2022 the feature was not even available for users. The platform also recently removed the live captions function. This feature would have been useful for those who are hard of hearing (such as older voters).
A live event can highlight a lack in charisma
In politics, charisma is key. Even a 37-year old mayor who is barely able to run can become a star if he or she wins over enough undecided votes in a townhall, as Pete Buttigieg did in 2019.
DeSantis, despite his rapid rise to the Congress and then the Governor's Mansion, isn't the most personable of politicians. Some critics suggest he lacks retail politics skills necessary to succeed on campaign trails.
Musk and David Sacks, who were also present at DeSantis' online launch event, pose their own risks for DeSantis. Musk, a meme-obsessed ideological oddball, has posted antisemitic Tweets against Hungarian philanthropist George Soros in recent weeks. Twitter lost millions of dollars in advertising revenue under his leadership, which it is still working to recover.
Sacks is not well known outside Silicon Valley or venture capital circles. However, he has a podcast that he co-hosts every week, and this makes him the media expert of tonight. In a political environment so unfamiliar, it is risky to rely on Sacks to lead the discussion.
DeSantis is hoping to tap an online base that's extremely large, but winning the Republican nod won't depend on accounts with "Pepe" in them. It is more likely that the campaign will hinge on convincing Iowa caucus goers and New Hampshire seniors, who don't log onto Twitter very often.
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By: mhall@businessinsider.com (Madison Hall)
Title: Ron DeSantis is launching his 2024 campaign on Twitter Spaces. It’s a huge mistake
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/desantis-2024-campaign-on-twitter-spaces-mistake-2023-5
Published Date: Wed, 24 May 2023 20:34:13 +0000
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