Medicare, housing dominate SM conversation

A Singapore-based executive for social media giant Twitter says Australian users of the site are world leaders in blending political and popular culture.

Medicare, housing affordability and the NBN have dominated Twitter election chatter in 2016, according to an executive at the social media giant.

Twitter Asia-Pacific media vice president Rishi Jaitly, who is in Sydney for Saturday's poll, said Australians were world leaders in blending politics and pop culture online.

The 33-year-old said social media sites such as Twitter were making democracy more accessible and fun.

"There's a confluence with pop culture happening that I haven't seen at this scale in other markets," the Singapore-based Mr Jaitly told AAP.

"I think it represents an interesting evolution of our politics worldwide, and as someone who has worked on these issues for a while, it's exciting."

Mr Jaitly referenced television show House Of Cards-tweeting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's use of "emojis" and Twitter users comparing candidates to Game Of Thrones characters as examples of this confluence.

The social media platform has also launched a "sausage bot" informing users of their nearest voting booth and barbecue.

Mr Turnbull was the most referenced party leader on Twitter with almost 60 per cent of overall mentions, followed by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with 33 per cent.

However Mr Shorten's Labor was the most mentioned party, gaining 45 per cent of total mentions.

"#auspol is, for the third year in a row, the third-most powerful hashtag in the world," Mr Jaitly said.

"It's clear to me we're a part of pop culture, a part of mass culture here in Australia."


Share
Published 1 July 2016 7:06pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world