Under 30 Summit Highlights How Social Media And Technology Are Shaping Politics
By Melony Roy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Barack Obama was the first presidential candidate to recognize the power of social media and use it to win two elections.
A representative from Twitter was on a panel at the Under 30 Summit that focused on how technology is changing politics.
Bridget Coyne -- the manager of Twitter's Government & Elections team says a candidate's ability to establish a one-to-one connection on a public platform is key.
"Just generally being yourself," says Coyne. "I think that's why Donald Trump is so popular because he is raw and the more and more you can be raw and timely the more successful the candidate is."
On Twitter engagement can now turn into fundraising money.
"We now have a partnership with Square, so you can actually donate through a tweet to a campaign."
Coyne says during the 2016 election we'll see more videos, pictures, live streams and daily updates from the candidates.
"The teams that are working on the campaigns are investing more to understand it and not just saying one team has to figure it out but the whole campaign"
In terms of followers on Twitter, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have significant leads on the other candidates both with 4.3 million followers.
