The Ronnie Puno Facebook Incident

A few days ago, I got an invite in Facebook from Ronnie Puno, a Filipino politician who, in all likelihood, will be running for Vice-President in the 2010 national elections here in the Philippines.

This invite is the very same Facebook invite fellow blogger Aileen Apolo got from Mr. Puno:

Political campaigns done in online social networks is not new-- in fact, many say Barack Obama won the presidency of the United States of America because of his smart use of the internet and online social networks. So why does Ronnie Puno's Facebook campaign pale in comparison?

Here's my answer: Authenticity.

Ronnie Puno's message was far from authentic. I even think it's an insult to the intelligence of the invited users in Facebook because the invitation tries to make it sound like Ronnie Puno knows you and is one of your friends who has known you for a long time. Sheesh, Mr. Puno just wants votes. End of story.

The problem is that people know Ronnie Puno's objectives, but he can't outwardly say that he's campaigning because it is not the election campaign period yet. This premature electioneering from Mr. Puno tries to circumvent the loopholes the election code so he can ask for your votes, perhaps not now but in the future.

So, remember this: Authenticity is key to a successful online political campaign.

Just ask at Barack Obama.