The Great Debate UK

TweetTracker shows Nick Clegg most liked

- Paul Afshar is senior account manager at public relations firm Edelman. The opinions expressed are his own. -

A famous German writer once said “personality is everything”, which could not ring truer for the UK’s General Election, and particularly “likeability” on social media.

With the public, to lesser and greater extents, unbothered by detail of party manifesto commitments, the sturdy Scottishness of Gordon Brown vs. the persuasive tones of David Cameron and, arguably Nick Clegg, act as barometers of voters’ intentions better than their understanding of National Insurance contributions.

Should the party leaders be concerned about their likeability on social media?

Yes, according to Edelman’s TweetTracker tool. On Twitter, with its 2.5 million UK users, personality is everything.

The battle for Twitter

- Paul Afshar is senior account manager at public relations firm Edelman. The opinions expressed are his own. -

Twitter claimed its first scalp in the Election campaign on Friday with the sacking of Labour candidate for Moray in Scotland, Stuart MacLennan, following a series of controversial tweets on the site.

Why trust is the new currency for banks

- Robert Phillips is UK CEO of Edelman, a public relations firm. The opinions expressed are his own. -

Trust is an entry which does not appear on a bank’s balance sheet. As an important asset, perhaps it should.