On p274 of Inglorious I pointed out that the grouse shooters are rather outgunned on social media, and I also wrote that it might not last that long. Well, I think both remarks are still true.
| Twitter followers Jan 2015 | Twitter followers June 2016 | Twitter followers now | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorland Association @MoorlandAssoc | 291 | 462 | 743 |
| GWCT @GameandWidlife | 5,500 | 9,655 | 11,957 |
| BASC news @BASCNews | 10,500 | 14,300 | 17,313 |
| Countryside Alliance @CA_Updates | 10,500 | 20,600 | 23,445 |
| Mark Avery @markAvery | 19,200 | 26,700 | 29,003 |
| Chris Packham @ChrisGPackham | 117,000 | 159,000 | 190,000 |
| RSPB @Natures_Voice | 145,000 | 230,000 | 265,000 |
Of course, there are many more, relevant Twitter accounts than just these seven, many people never go near Twitter (so who cares!), your followers may take no notice of what you say and you may occasionally shoot yourself in the foot. But social media (not just Twitter) are generally reckoned to have played an important part in nudging voting intentions in the general election and are likely to do so in future ones too. It would be surprising if Twitter power doesn’t have some impact on every contentious debate.
There are many snags with social media, as there are with books, and the TV and writing, and everything, but the great advantage is that you can play your part. That doesn’t mean that you have to spend your whole life looking at a phone or a screen, but you can play a part.
I know that many readers of this blog are on social media – Twitter and Facebook are what I look at most – and I see some very well-made points and witty remarks. If you are using Twitter then why not try to build your following over the summer so that your tweets and retweets are seen by even more people?
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