Ourselves alone (but making connections): The social media strategies of Sinn Fein

Cyber enthusiasts such as O'Reilly (2005) have suggested that the “architecture of participation” synonymous with social networking sites has the potential not only to reshape how citizens and political institutions interact with each other but also to lower the costs associated with collective action. However, empirical evidence from parties in the United Kingdom indicates that they may be wary of encouraging “too much interactivity” via these online networks and are more likely to use social media sites for marketing purposes (Jackson and Lilleker, 2009). This chapter will add to the debate over the transformative potential of Web 2.0 by examining the social media strategies of Sinn Fein. 1 Formerly best known as the “political front” of the Provisional Irish Republican Army during the Northern Irish conflict (Richards, 2001: 73), the party has achieved unprecedented electoral success north and south of the Irish border since the Belfast Agreement was signed in May 1998. The adoption of a political agenda that was similar to that of the Social and Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) was crucial in differentiating the party from the Provisional IRA and broadening its electoral base (Bruce, 2001). Previous research indicates that Sinn Fein has used its online presence to articulate this position but provided limited opportunities for direct interaction with supporters on its website (Reilly, 2006, 2011b). This study will consider the extent to which social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have enabled the party to engage not only with their own supporters but also members of the unionist/loyalist community. The chapter will focus on what factors have influenced these social media strategies, the advice given to members who maintain an online presence and how the party uses data gathered from these sites. It does so by reviewing the relevant literature on political parties and new media, providing an overview of the cyber campaigns of Northern Irish political parties and presenting the results from a semi-structured interview with a representative of the Sinn Fein communication team. Results indicate that Sinn Fein's social media strategies are developed by a small team that have responsibility for collecting data from these sites. Comments left on the Sinn Fein Facebook and Twitter pages demonstrate the limitations of these strategies as these Web users continue to hold zero-sum perceptions of Northern Irish politics