By KOH HUI THENG

CAN you handle the heat from the Internet?

New media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube could be the most effective and "honest" way for companies and politicians to reach out to the masses in the fastest possible way.

But there is a price. The Net heat - brutally honest feedback and negative comments - could become too hot to handle.

Public-relations guru Scott Goodstein should know. After all, Mr Goodstein had been the external online director for United States President Barack Obama's media campaign since 2007.

The campaign, which triggered a "tidal wave" of online voter activism, brought Mr Obama, 47, into the White House earlier this year, making him the first African-American President in the country's history.

Mr Goodstein was in town yesterday to deliver a speech to business delegates at CommunicAsia 09, Asia's largest infocomm show.

In the years to come, mobile phones which come with social-media applications could well be the weapons of choice for politicians and businesses as they engage the public to boost "brand loyalty".

The potential for Singapore to "experiment" with socialmedia tools is tremendous, he said.

For a country of 4.5 million, Singapore's 6.45 million mobile subscriptions puts it among the world's most-connected populations.

The free incoming text-messaging service that telcos here offer provides "a big opportunity" for engaging a wider pool of people.

"Those who can provide people with real value-added services for free can benefit," he said.

While he did not comment on how politicians here could turn to such methods to engage the public, he said that organisations which send information on the location of the nearest polling station or how a voter could register early, for example, would gain from the goodwill generated.

Even little extras like passing on health tips or cinema booking statuses go a long way towards engaging people.

Mr Goodstein added that politicians who blog or use microblogging site Twitter are on the right track. Here, Foreign Minister George Yeo has his own blog, while Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, has a Facebook account.

Taking a leaf from the US' book, Mr Goodstein said new media tools like Twitter allow the man in the street valuable insight into the minds of politicians who "tweet" or blog.

He said: "This results in people feeling more connected and brand-loyal. They may then contribute to your cause."

However, Mr Goodstein stressed "the need to be honest with people who talk online".

He said: "It takes a lot for the higher-ups to acknowledge this. At the end of the day, do they have the stomach to handle it?"

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