From The Times
April 28, 2009
Gordon Brown silences YouTube critics by disabling viewer comments
Gordon Brown's bad habits are more popular than his speeches
Patrick Foster, Media Correspondent
Gordon Brown’s YouTube message on MPs’ expenses has been watched only
4,000 times. By contrast, the video of him picking his nose has been
watched 630,000 times and the video of the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan
haranguing him in the European Parliament has attracted more than two
million hits.
The Prime Minister’s woeful viewing figures can be seen as a symptom of
his difficulties with the internet. His performance in the expenses
video, notably his awkward smile and disconcerting body movements, have
been widely mocked.
Not, however, on the official Downing Street YouTube portal, where
viewer comments have been disabled. For although the stated aim of the
exercise is to speak directly to voters, it seems that No 10 seems less
keen to have the voters talk back. A No 10 spokeswoman said that this
was necessary because moderating offensive comments would be too
arduous. “In terms of allowing people to comment online, we need to
adhere to the Civil Service code: no content on the website can be
party-political. We would need to monitor and moderate all comments
posted online.”
She denied that the Prime Minister’s low viewing figures were a sign
that he had failed to come to terms with the internet. “We have changed
our approach. It is right that the PM gets his message across new
channels and engages with the public in ways that suit them, in addition
to using traditional outlets.” Downing Street has a plethora of
platforms. Aside from the YouTube channel, started under Tony Blair in
2007, it has a Twitter feed, a Facebook page and an e-petitions site, on
which voters can lobby the Prime Minister. It also posts photographs on
the Flickr picture-sharing website Paul Staines, who is author of the
Guido Fawkes political blog, said that Downing Street was playing into
the hands of Mr Brown’s detractors by trying to conquer the internet.
“They put a load of pictures of him up on Flickr,” he said. “Every
Friday morning I scan through the photos on there and find the most
stupid one I can. You can just use it to make him look like even more of
an idiot.”
Staines, who revealed the e-mail smears that brought down Damian
McBride, Mr Brown’s former adviser, said: “All in all, do they really
think they are going to win over one extra voter with this stuff? All
interaction is another way of people saying they hate you. People on the
internet feel a lot braver than when they are face to face with you.”
The e-petitions website, launched in 2006, has proved to be a headache
for the Government, with people more likely to use it to petition for
Jeremy Clarkson to be made prime minister than to save their local
school. The eighth most popular petition of the moment, with 17,665
signatures and counting, asks Mr Brown to do just one thing: resign.
Http://technology.
e6182161.ece
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