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In the lead-up to this year's federal election, Australian politicians are reaching out to voters like never before - in 140 characters or less.
Just as 2007 was the first Australian election to utilise social networking sites and the video sharing site YouTube, the country is gearing up for its first Twitter election.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is already followed by more than 900,000 tweeters, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey tweets nearly every day and new Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's account became active as soon as he won the top job.
Julie Posetti, a journalist and academic at the University of Canberra who has researched the use of Twitter by politicians, says the election will 'essentially be twitterised'.
Ms Posetti says there are parallels between the use of Twitter by MPs and how former prime minister John Howard famously used talkback radio during his 11-year reign.
'John Howard used talkback to great effect, but what Twitter offers is an even more personalised opportunity to engage one on one without the gatekeepers sitting there determining who or who not will get to air,' she told AAP.
'I do think we are are likely to see some exciting, explosive moments (during the election) courtesy of Twitter and as a public we need to applaud that.
'A bit of honesty and authenticity back in politics is something I am sure a lot of people would welcome.'
There are currently 39 federal MPs in the ALP, the coalition and the Greens who actively tweet.
Many do so via their iPhone or BlackBerry while sitting through question time in parliament.
In February, through Twitter, opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton responded to a complaint by Julia Gillard over an interjection he made.
'Telling (Health Minister Nicola Roxon) to get on her broomstick is hardly grossly unparliamentary' as joolia claimed,' Mr Dutton wrote.
When the tweet came to the attention of Speaker Harry Jenkins he acknowledged: 'If there is to be this continued critique of my performance ... I perhaps better update my skills to look at that social network.'
During the Liberal Party's leadership spill in November last year, Mr Hockey came under attack for Twitter canvassing the views of his followers on the government's proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Many read it as a sign that Mr Hockey, who at the time supported the ETS, was ready to backflip.
'He can't govern the nation by tweet,' Ms Gillard said.
'People don't expect their politicians to just text a message, 'What do you think the defence budget should be' and apparently a whole lot of tweets come back and you accept that.'
But Mr Hockey argued it was the same as canvassing opinions by phone and email or walking down the street.
'That's the great value of Twitter,' he told AAP.
'There's 8500 people out there who have different views.
'Some of them are quite plainly hostile, but they're all prepared to give an opinion and so it's useful.'
The shadow treasurer is one of the few politicians to offer personal insights into their lives, having for example tweeted about putting his newborn son Ignatius to sleep while driving around Sydney listening to ABC Newsradio.
However, many politicians do not know how to truly utilise Twitter and instead it has become a forum for mini-press releases and political spin.
Ms Posetti says many are just using it as a one-way broadcast medium and struggling to get beyond the impression of spin that has got so many voters disenchanted.
'They are managing to sidestep the gate keepers but in doing that they are regenerating spin,' she said.
Since Mr Abbott became Liberal leader his once dormant Twitter account has become active.
But with impersonal tweets that appear to have come from a staffer such as 'I will launch the Coalition's plan for direct action on the environment and climate change at 12:45pm' it is clear he is far from understanding the medium.
'It is a highly ineffective way to use the new media and really shows me what they think is just a broadcast platform,' Ms Posetti said.
In contrast, his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull had figured out how to use Twitter with a blend of personal and professional communication and real engagement with his followers, she said.
Mr Abbott should ask Mr Hockey for some advice.
'It's meaningless to use Twitter if it's simply a recycled political message,' Mr Hockey said.
'It has to be as if it came from your lips.'
In the 2007 election, Mr Rudd had a prominent presence on Facebook and MySpace, posting messages that connected with a younger generation of voters.
But then prime minister John Howard failed to recognise the benefit of the new media and his attempt to utilise it at the 11th hour failed dismally.
Mr Rudd's connection with a younger generation through social media is credited as one of the reasons he won the election.
According to Ms Posetti, if Mr Abbott does not realise the potential of Twitter he will suffer the same fate as his former leader.
'They're going to need to get their act together to compete with what is so far a more social media savvy government.'
