Earlier today, I had the opportunity to Skype with Ryerson University professor and expert in all things online, Greg Elmer.

In addition to writing several highly readable texts on the Internet and communications, Greg is a columnist with the Hill Times and was a significant contributor to the Ormiston Online project at CBC News during the last federal election.  We talk authenticity, honesty, and politics in the Canadian context.

Not content to wait for the next Canadian election, Greg will spend several months in the United Kingdom on a series of fellowships (Manchester, Anglia Ruskin University, London School of Economics) during their upcoming General Election and then in Korea studying social media and politics online.

Untitled from Ian Capstick on Vimeo.

Greg also pointed me to a fascinating study from the UK Hansard Society which details Facebook usage by MPs at Westminster:

MPs on Facebook shows that while over half (51%) of Liberal Democrat MPs have a presence on Facebook, the figures for Labour and the Conservatives are 15% and 9%, respectively.  The research identified three main types of usage:  campaigning, communication, and personal:

• 46% of MPs are using Facebook primarily as a communications tool
• 31% of MPs are using Facebook primarily to canvas and campaign
• 13% of MPs are using Facebook primarily for personal information
• 10% of MPs’ Facebook pages are ‘inactive’