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• 1 2016-11-01T11:15:02-07:00 General Election 7 plain 337662 2016-11-02T23:18:56-07:00 By the time both primaries were over Trump was not the only one utilizing the free media that Twitter had to offer.  Hillary Clinton had jumped on the band wagon also.  Throughout her primary Clinton used Twitter and other social media sites for free advertising and to deliver ideas.  However, just like Trump’s competitors in the primary she was not as successful as him.  Though, since winning the primary she has increased her twitter presence and is now only a little over 2 million followers behind Trump with just over 10 million to his over 12 million.
          
  Both Clinton and Trump have continued to use Twitter as a platform for their ideas and plans in the general election, while also continuing to use it for criticism of ideas and plans they do not agree with.  However, the true use of Twitter during this general election has almost been in the form of a highly inappropriate and unofficial debate.  The two candidates go back and forth on issues, whether they are relevant to politics and the United States or not, in a highly ridiculous and inappropriate manor.  They also use it for mudslinging and in some cases slander.  While all of this is just another form of free media use as it was in the primaries, it has raised to all new levels in this general election.
          
  Twitter limits you to 140 characters per tweet.  The very makeup of twitter goes against what these candidates are using it for.  Ensslin talks about ludus or “rule-governed play”.  If you think of Twitter as a game, it would have a ludic style because of its limitations.  Due to the ludic nature of Twitter, Trump and Clinton are not able to “win” the game.  Twitter was never meant to be used for a political platform.  140 characters would never be enough to express what you had planned for our country.  It is no wonder that Trump and Clinton resorted to throwing brief insults back and forth. The very design of Twitter is the reason they are using it in a negative way. 
  
  Mudslinging campaigns and false accusations against an opponent has been common in political campaigns for years, but with the use of twitter in this general election it seems to be going to an all new level.  The topic on all news stations or in any debate is rarely that of a true problem in the country, but that of what terrible thing can I say about my opponent today?  While it may have started with Trump and what he is saying and has said in the past about women is in no way acceptable, Hillary has followed his example by using twitter to taunt Trump. The use of Twitter in this general election may have gotten both candidates a lot of free media, but at what cost?  The integrity of the office that they are running for?