Two months ago, we at GVO reported how two pre-candidates for the 2010 presidential election had opened their Twitter accounts, as part of their campaign strategy. As President Álvaro Uribe, in office since August 7, 2002, keeps the country waiting with his decision whether or not to run for a third term that would last until 2014, despite Congress’ rush to pass a referendum for a Constitutional reform needed for a third term to be allowed), some candidates have started to campaign all over the country. Some government officials, such as Agriculture Minister Andrés Felipe Árias and Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, have resigned to posts in order to campaign, which they must do so before May 30, one year before the election. They are stating they will seek to continue Uribe's policies if elected. However, Santos is not officially running, claiming he will only run if president Uribe decides not to. Despite Uribe's indecision and the opposition to the second re-election voiced by politicians, social sectors and the media, domestically and abroad, it is clear the campaign for 2010 has started and campaign staffers have looked at internet as a new media to promote their candidates. In a two-post series, journalist and blogger Camilo García has summarized the presence of Colombian politicians on the internet, not only through their official websites or Twitter, but also through Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. In the first part [es], García writes about several politicians who use social networks in order to promote their names for the next elections. It's unavoidable to mention US President Barack Obama's success back in 2008. Here we quote some highlights: Fajardo, como prometió en Caracol Radio, utiliza las herramientas digitales. Tiene un portal muy bonito donde olvida que lo importante en Internet son los contenidos, no la forma y la cantidad de herramientas digitales que usa. El ahora candidato tiene cuenta en Flickr, tiene 121 videos en YouTube y 5.940 partidarios en Facebook. La figura se observa pero las ideas no las veo. Lastima que este señor no tenga aún una cuenta en Twitter. García quotes one of the tweets [es] from former Congressman Germán Vargas Lleras, leader of the centre-right Radical Change party: “La situación en el Caribe colombiano es peor que en el resto del país, ando por Villanueva, Bolivar. (…) No puede ser que las personas que trabajan allí y los compradores desarrollen sus actividades en condiciones tan deplorables.” García thinks that these tweets reveal something troubling: Trinos (…) como estos denotan el desconocimiento tan profundo que tienen los políticos del país . Hasta yo sé que en la Costa se observa una pobreza de grande dimensiones y eso que sólo soy un ciudadano cualquiera. Si un político o senador se asombra con esas circunstancias y considera digna su publicación en Internet creo que estamos perdidos. Tweets as these show a deep lack of knowledge the politicians have about the country. Even I know that poverty of huge dimensions is noticeable in the [Caribbean] Coast, me being a common citizen. If a politician or a senator is amazed at these circumstances and consider its publication on the internet to be worthy I think we're doomed. And he praises former Defense Minister and Liberal Party pre-candidate Rafael Pardo: Lo interesante de este perfil en Twitter es que el político está detrás de la cuenta. Reconoce que no sabe utilizar las herramientas tecnológicas y lo más sensato es que pide ayuda de los usuarios para lograr los objetivos. Esto marca una diferencia con los otros políticos que tienen sus estrategias en Internet pero se limitan a enviar mensajes al pueblo. La diferencia está en la interacción. Otro de los aspectos que lo diferencian de los otros personajes es el contenido. Artículos breves, con temas de coyuntura. Es decir, tiene claridad en sus ideas políticas y es capaz de expresarlas para internet, es decir, crea contenido valioso para Internet. The interesting thing about this Twitter profile is that it is the politician the one behind the account. He admits he hasn't learned yet to use digital tools and the most sensible thing is that he asks for help from his users in order to achieve his goals. This marks a difference with the other politicians who have internet strategies but limit themselves to sending messages to the public. The difference is the interaction. Another of the aspects that makes [Rafael Pardo] different from these other characters is the content (on his portal): Short articles, about current situations topics. This is, he has clarity on his political ideas and is able to express them for the web. He creates valuable content for internet.