The revolution will not be tweeted

Don’t listen to the hype about ‘Web 2.0’ politics, says Andrew Gilligan. Online campaigning is only of interest to a handful of Westminster nerds and journalists

Ed Balls has ‘had to take the roast chicken out of the oven’. For Sarah Brown, ‘waking up in our house in Fife was today’s special treat’. William Hague is ‘enjoying a good Burger King at Wetherby services’, and the breaking news from Eric Pickles is that he is ‘out with the team in Brentwood’. In the general election as it appears on Twitter — or should that be Pooter? — there can be no doubt that the battle of ideas is well and truly joined.

Questioning the importance of the ‘Web 2.0 campaign’ has, of course, become as outrageous an assault on the conventional wisdom as, say, challenging gay marriage. But I need to break this to you: contrary to the panting predictions of a thousand middle-aged hacks desperate to look with-it, this will not be the Twitter or Facebook election.