Ivan Stojanovic

The Good:
Facebook
Email and mobile published on the web site.

The Bad:
THe web site reads – ‘Contact Us’. It should be more personal. I don’t really want to contact ‘Them’ but a ‘person’.

Conclusion: Online presence is actaulally just one quite ’static’ and non-interactive web site. And a Facebook Profile that is an hours worth of effort.

A Personal Message from Patricia

If elected to the European Parliament, I pledge to continue my campaign and the campaign of so many grass roots movements in Ireland and in other EU member states for a more democratic, open and transparent EU. I will work with all those citizen groups who, in the face of huge political, media and establishment machines, are campaigning with little or no resources to achieve a better EU. An EU where social justice, sustainable development, human rights, peace and disarmament take centre stage. An EU where people have a say in the decision-making process and where those politicians and bureaucrats who are making decisions on our behalf will be held accountable. The future direction of the EU must have the consent of the majority of the citizens of the member states and must be based on the principle of democracy and accountability.

The strain put on governments by the current economic crisis is being used to introduce policies that will have devastating consequences for the majority of people. The super-rich will be the least affected, despite being the ones to benefit from the economic boom. The economic policies pursued until now have been unsustainable and have been responsible not only for our global environmental problems but also for our social problems. We need a new approach that puts people and the environment first.

If the European Union is to have the support and confidence of ordinary people, then it must be made more democratic. For years we have heard the phrase “tackling the Democratic Deficit” – EU speak for the fact that the EU is not democratic – but we have yet to see any clear evidence that democracy is being introduced. The recent referenda on the EU Constitution and the Lisbon Treaty are testament to this fact. Political leaders openly admitted that they would not let their people vote on this, because they could not be guaranteed to get the answer they wanted. Those lucky enough to have a say were ignored when the did cast their vote. The Lisbon Treaty decides the future direction of the EU and all citizens should have a say in this.

People need a voice independent of the Government and political parties to push on their behalf for the things that really matter to them. If elected I pledge to do exactly that. I have the experience and the track record to prove it. Summaries of some of the main issues I will highlight during this campaign can be found here.

The Good: Personal Web site joehiggins.eu
Twitter statistics: Following 244, Followers 163
Blog- With posts since January 2009!
Facebook
YouTube
Flickr
Bebo
MySpace

The Bad:
No LinkedIN Profile.

Conclusion:
The Blog might not be nice, but it’s certainly a work of a professional blogger. The sheer amount of social networks accounts is again a sign of a professional on duty here. The Social Bookmarking plugin for WordPress is a clear give away! Well done! But it could be nice in the same time, couldn’t it?

From Joes web site about himself:

Joe Higgins is a long time activist in the labour and trade union movement. Elected to Dublin County Council in 1991, he was a leading fighter against corrupt land rezoning in Dublin and for planning in the interests of communities rather than for speculators and major developers.

Joe Higgins was the Chair of the Federation of Dublin Anti Water Charges Campaign which won massive support and forced the Fine Gael/Labour Government to abolish water charges in December 1996. Minister for Social Welfare, Mary Hanafin, said last year that had abolition not happened, each household in Dublin would be currently paying €700 per year in water charges.

Joe Higgins was elected to the Dail in 1997 and for the next ten years was a leading opponent of the right wing policies of the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat Government. He frequently challenged the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, on a wide range of issues including land speculation and profiteering in the housing market, Government support for the invasion and occupation of Iraq and in defence of workers’ rights.

In 2003 Joe Higgins was sent to Mountjoy Jail for a month over his opposition to Bin Tax, a new stealth tax on Dublin householders.

In 2005, with the Socialist Party, he exposed the horrific abuse of migrant workers by Gama Construction and struck a major blow against the ‘race to the bottom’ when that company was forced to pay unpaid wages of around €30million to its workers. (See Documentary “The GAMA Strike” here)

Joe Higgins was a key Leader of the opposition to the Lisbon Treaty last year because it would facilitate further privatisation of crucial services like Health, push the militarisation of the EU, increase arms spending and institutionalise the right of bad employers to attack agreed wages and conditions for entire industries.

The Good: Personal Web site deirdredeburca.ie
Twitter statistics: Following 711, Followers 491
Blog- 20ish updates allready (all in latest 2 months).
Facebook
YouTube – 44 Videos
LinkedIN Profile

The Bad:  Poor LinkedIN Profile.

Conclusion: Good Facebook and two sites deirdredeburca.ie and whatistandfor.ie. Twitter with actaul folowers, YouTube with 44 entries, and even Flickr used show the existance of an online strategy.

A message from Deirdre de Burca from her web site:

Welcome to What I Stand For…

You are very welcome to my European campaign website ‘www.WhatIStandFor.ie’. My name is Deirdre de Burca and I am the Green Party MEP candidate for Dublin in the 2009 European elections in Dublin on June 5th. This website aims to let you know what I stand for as a MEP election candidate in Dublin and to explain the importance of having Green MEPs in the European Parliament. The videos on this page tell you about some of my main campaign themes – creating Thousands of new Green Jobs for Dublin, giving More Power to Irish Voters in Brussels, and creating A City that Works better for all Dubliners. I will use my MEP position in the European Parliament to promote economic recovery in Ireland, bring much greater levels of democracy to the EU and make Dublin a greener city, and Ireland a better place to live and work. Please watch my videos below, enter my competition , let me know what you think, and vote for me, Deirdre de Burca on June 5th 2009 as you Dublin MEP candidate in the European Parliament.