Interesting...

Found this article by Monique Beech on The Standard's website this evening: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2806397. It will be interesting to see how my approach - lots of social media, no election signs, but knocking on doors - will work in determining Monday's outcome.

Study to look at social media and the civic election

By MONIQUE BEECH , STANDARD STAFF

A group of researchers from Brock University has started a study on the use of social media in the current civic election in Niagara.

The research will look at a sample of candidates for mayor, council and school boards in Niagara, and study how they used online tools ranging from personal election websites to video sites such as YouTube and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook in the run-up to the Oct. 25 municipal vote.

Spearheaded by Brock's Niagara Community Observatory, which works with local partners to foster, produce and spread research on current issues, the study is in the early stages and the parameters are still being set, said David Siegel, a Brock political science professor who studies local government.

He said it's evident a lot more candidates are finding new ways of communicating with the public since the last civic election in 2006.

For instance, the majority of the 77 people seeking a city council, regional council and school board seat in St. Catharines have a website, several use Facebook and a handful are on Twitter.

"We're at a time of transition where people are beginning to use social media much more," Siegel said.

"It's not just websites, which people have been using for some time, now people are getting into Twitter and YouTube and Facebook and a variety of things like that. We'd just like to see what it is that people are doing."

Siegel said new media tools are still not a replacement for older ones, such as roadside signs and door knocking.

"There are still people around that expect election signs," Siegel said. "But we're probably going to move to the point where election signs are going to be less important and your web presence or Twitter presence or whatever is going to be more important."

He said researchers are starting to compile a database of who's online and what they're doing. Websites will be judged on factors such as ease of navigation and interactivity.

Siegel said it's yet to be decided if the study will attempt to gauge what impact social media had on the outcome of the election.

The research team has yet to set a deadline for completion of the study.