I'm always a news junkie, but this election has taken things to a new height or depth depending on how you want to look at it. Why? I've discovered the crack cocaine of news: Twitter.
What makes it so addictive? Not because I'm following the feeds of the candidates and campaign managers (although I am) but because I'm following the journalists on the campaign trail. Up-to-the-second news, opinion, and humour from very smart, very informed people without the filter they apply when they're on air or filing their finished story.
It's surprising how connected they are all the time. CBC, CTV, CPAC, Macleans, the Globe & Mail, the National Post, the Sun -- everyone in the national media follows each other, sharing sources, knowledge and opinions minute by minute through the day.
And the banter back and forth is Daily Show-worthy political satire often not just involving the press but the campaign managers and speechwriters as well.
Top of my list for humour is @InfoAlerteBot (a hilarious Colbert-esque style jokester who writes in all-caps and is described in its bio as "A SELF-AWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEVOTED TO PROVIDING TIMELY AND ACCURATE INFORMATION TO THE HUMANOID MEMBERS OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY."
Among my fovourite InfoBot tweets:
GOOD LUCK TO THE CANUCKS AND CANADIENS. WE HOPE THE STRESS OF THIS UNNECESSARY ELECTION DOESN'T PUT THEM OFF THEIR GAME. #cdnpoli #elxn41
THE PM WILL BE DOING A PHOTO-OP AT A UNIVERSITY ON FRIDAY. ANYONE INTERESTED IN APPEARING IN "STUDENT COSTUME", PLEASE CALL #elxn41 #cdnpoli
I also greatly enjoyed eavesdropping on InfoAlerteBot and Justin Trudeau insulting each other in binary code.
Among my favs for news, analysis and backstage views are Kady O'Malley (@kady, who tweets so often that it's hard to see how she manages to do anything else,) Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) and Paul Wells (InklessPW), Rosemary Barton (@RosieBarton) and Adam Goldenberg (@adamgoldenberg) speechwriter for Michael Ignatieff.
If you're interested following the campaign via the Twitter-verse just start following one of the above and then take a look at who they're following and add to taste. Be warned though: Once you get hooked on the up-to-the-minute behind the scenes view of the campaign it's hard to pull yourself away. It feels like jumping off a quickly spinning merry-go-round to go back to the ' nightly news' or 'morning paper' rhythm of following the campaign, and I can't help but wonder what effect this is having on the campaign.
On Twitter a story that's brand-new at 10 AM is over by 2 in the afternoon, particularly concerning the torrent of corruption and lack of transparency charges that keep coming up against the Harper Government. When there's a new scandal everyday, does a "Can't see the forest for the trees" effect take over where it just ends up being a blur for most of the electorate? I'm afraid it just might.
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