The Great Debate
Welcome

© Joe Casad, Editor in Chief
The history of high tech in politics writes another chapter this season, with Twitter taking on new importance. Barack Obama pioneered the use of Twitter as a campaign vehicle in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns, carefully coordinating his tweets to complement a comprehensive strategy of voter outreach.
This time, candidate Donald Trump appears to be using Twitter even more than Obama did. In fact, one could argue that Twitter is Trump's primary mode of communication – every day a few more Trump tweets appear in the news headlines.
Dear Linux Magazine Reader,
The history of high tech in politics writes another chapter this season, with Twitter taking on new importance. Barack Obama pioneered the use of Twitter as a campaign vehicle in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns, carefully coordinating his tweets to complement a comprehensive strategy of voter outreach.
This time, candidate Donald Trump appears to be using Twitter even more than Obama did. In fact, one could argue that Twitter is Trump's primary mode of communication – every day a few more Trump tweets appear in the news headlines. With all those tweets, you might be thinking that Trump spends even more time and energy studying and coordinating what he says, but judging from the content of some of his messages, he doesn't appear to be passing the contents by any kind of professional politician or handler. He really seems to be tweeting whatever happens into his head. Is this a missed opportunity for more careful coordination? Maybe not. Twitter thrives on high velocity. Trump just keeps the tweets coming, and therefore, keeps himself constantly in the news. Even if he tweets something that no experienced political manager would ever let him say, it doesn't matter, because, before anyone can even start a controversy over it, he has already moved on and tweeted something else.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.