John Edwards on Using Social Media to Pierce the Bubble

I just finished watching Robert Scoble’s interview with John Edwards on ScobleShow and I thought Edwards said something that was pretty important when it comes to business blogging.

Robert asked him whether he would maintain the same level of transparency once he was elected president. Edwards responded that he would, but that the big challenge would be piercing the bubble of security that “descends” around a president by way of the Secret Service and other mechanisms for keeping our nation’s leader safe from harm.

The same is true for anyone in a position of great power, and really for everyone. We all enclose ourselves in bubbles of one kind or another, and that tendency only becomes stronger as we gain power and prestige. For a very select few at the top, access becomes a privilege.

Among other things, the storied “democratization of media” allows us to pierce that bubble. It’s what gives geeks like Scoble the opportunity to ask hardball questions of a presidential candidate. In fact-and no, I’m not just kissing Scoble’s ass when I say this-the questions he asked Senator Edwards were better framed and delivered than any that I’ve heard a reporter ask a political figure in a long time. He cut right through the bullshit and got some straight answers out of a politician. I congratulate him for that.