Clint Eastwood’s speech at the Republican National Convention this past week should forever seal the deal that actors and politics should never mix. Oh sure, we remember Ronald Reagan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, too. And it’s a fine line between many current politicians to know whether they truly believe the gobbledygook they spout or are they just acting for votes? (Sarah Palin comes to mind.)
However, Eastwood’s prime time turn just prior to Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech, in which he had a one-on-one with an empty chair that he believed President Obama was sitting in, was so downright bizarre it immediately spawned a Twitter account called @theinvisibleobama that as of this morning has nearly 50,000 followers. And the memes are just getting started.
It was a 12-minute unscripted riff that made two points: live TV is still worth watching because someone can lose it on air, and said lost marbles by an aging actor can (and will) be used to great benefit as free advertising to make the case for Barack Obama’s second term.
The Republican National Convention was meant to make Mitt Romney more likeable, but in the end he was upstaged by an empty chair. Meanwhile, it was a good week for our first social media President. Even before Eastwood and the Empty Chair took center stage, favorable Obama tweets were dominating online conversations.
Obama even ratcheted his positive online presence up another notch when he took to Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) forum and answered “well-connected” voters questions for an hour on Tuesday. If the 2012 presidential election were held online – Barack Obama would win by a landslide.
What else has been happening in and buzzing about the online world lately?
- Facebook’s timeline continues to ‘take over’ accounts. While some Facebook users have taken all “precautions” to avoid “catching” Timeline, it appears, even the safest Facebook users are not immune.
- Making friends offline remains a challenge for 20-somethings in the era of smart phones and FOMO culture.
- But getting out of the house more often has a downside. You could meet someone, fall in love and maybe get serious. And, then you’ve got to worry that 37% of adults think its okay to snoop through their partner’s texts.
- Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, passed away in late August. He was 82 years old. It seems fitting that what followed was a blue moon – that’s two full moons in one month, which is a rare occurrence.
Photo by AP. Pictured, actor Clint Eastwood (left) and empty chair (right), supposedly where @theinvisibleobama is sitting.
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7×7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
