tygerland.net

David Cameron has an article on Comment is Free that challenges politicians to connect with today’s increasingly politically disconnected young people. Cameron points at the popularity of social networking sites and how they have been used to energise and unite an activist base.

With online developments such as webcameron, and the Tories’ new site “sort it,” which Cameron describes as, “an innovative and provocative internet-based campaign designed to encourage young people to think about their own social responsibilities,” they are streaking ahead of Labour online. The Tories are targeting tomorrow’s voters with today’s technology. Labour will find that, by talking through yesterday’s technology, the TV and radio, tomorrow’s voters are just not listening.

Young people have a knack for spotting an oldie trying too hard to look cool, but Cameron’s offerings are so well presented and technologically savvy, that they easily blend in with the bebos, YouTubes and facebooks. Has Gordon Brown, so often characterised as dour and bookish, got any chance of connecting with today’s online generation. Email circulars, garnished with a smiling Westminster headshot and bulleted achievements, are nothing but unwanted spam compared to a video of a marigold clad Cameron or a ranting Boris.

Labour knows what it must do; but do they have the funds to hire the techies and design gurus to pull off a webameron? Probably not. But this does not mean that they can’t do more. Bloggers4Labour, an excellent site, has proven that there is indeed an Army of David’s who define themselves as Labour leaning bloggers. These untapped minions have drive and experience, yet they are not embraced. For all the good work of Alex Hilton, Andrew@B4L, and Mike Ion, it’s not enough; we need more, much more.

To the young people, who will soon vote for the first time, Labour is looking very old-hat; and, dare I say it, very establishment.