John Prescott is the Real Deal

Obama should become more like British politician John Prescott.

In a week when Obama disclosed that he has never sent a tweet in his life, despite having over 2million followers, John Prescott’s web presence should be lauded.

Like him or loath him, in a world where PR tries to control every message, Prescott is keeping it real. His views are his own, his principles are there for all to see and it is this honesty that is part of his charisma.

You might not like his views on Unions etc but if the Tories win the next election, then we will go back to a day when Britain was run by old Etonians, who have some strange views on Europe and anywhere north of Luton.

The rest of the political world should be looking at the approach of John Prescott to social media. As there are some easy wins here. Especially on blogger engagement.

I am sure John would say that he’s not a techy, and I can see ways in which he can make better use of social media tools. (Get on Posterous or Tumblr John! They are great easily for sharing information), but this technical skill matters not.

What works for John is that he can shoot from the hip and by and large be on message. Social media is perfect for politicians who feel able to do that.

John is combative and also interacts with his audience and retweets things he agrees with.

His blogging is insightful and you warm to the guy because he makes statements that he believes in, whether you agree with him or not.

I used to work with a chap who was one of Prescott’s special advisers, Tony Sophoclides, and he told me what a genuinely great guy John is. At the time I didn’t believe him.

Bland political figures are ruining politics and feeding groups such as the BNP, so more open politicians are needed.

Thanks to social media you can now get up close and personal to politicians in a way in which you couldn’t before. In my view all politicians should follow the Prescott model – starting with Obama.