Digital Britain plans abandoned while politicians slug it out
Several Digital Britain initiatives have been dropped in the lead up to the general election including proposals to fund regional TV news.
A report in the Financial Times says that the only significant reform to remain is a bid to crackdown on online piracy.
Ministers have pushed aside the need to reboot the economy through digital as they slug it out in the lead up to the May 6 election. But ministers must realise the importance and potential of digital, after all, they are harnessing its power for their election campaigns.
Social media is set to have "an unprecedented impact" on the forthcoming election, as rival politicians use sites like Facebook and Twitter to reach potential voters, according to the Daily Telegraph.
However, the magnitude of coverage garnered in traditional media channels by the parties’ digital campaigns, and the hijacking of those campaigns by the digitally creative, suggest that politicians are indeed aware of the power of digital.
Mydavidcameron.com, for example, sparked huge interest and a number of mischievously altered campaign posters, while Labour is using a digital campaign to fashion their new creative.
Both David Cameron and Gordon Brown have used YouTube, with varying degrees of success.
Meanwhile, several Digital Britain measures have been dropped because of Tory opposition, industry resistance or lack of legislative time, reports the FT. The silver lining is that both Labour and the Tories are committed to some form of public subsidy to expand superfast broadband networks to rural areas.
If the Conservatives win the election, they would use a portion of the BBC licence fee to pay for the expansion of superfast broadband infrastructure outside urban areas.
If Labour wins, the party would go back to its original plans and introduce the telephone tax.
Source: Utalkmarketing.com
Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs
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