Vote: Do politicians actually need to be on Twitter?

Kathy Dunderdaleis out of the Twitter business, at least for now.

On Thursday night, just a few hours afterHere & Now carried a reporton how government members had questionable social media activity of their ownincluding Dunderdale, whose account was following a Twitter spammer who posted links to pornographic videosthe premier shut down her Twitter account.

"I have not used my Twitter account for over a year very purposefully,"Dunderdale told reporters on Friday, explaining that she was not seeing much value in that social media platform anyway. Dunderdale decided that rather than unfollow or block the questionable Twitter user, she would rather not be on Twitter at all.

It was just one of several unusual circumstances last week. Earlier, the Tories zeroed in on NDP MHA Gerry Rogers for her membership in a Facebook group where another user posted threatening comments. The membership log in the Dunderdale Must Go! group shows that Rogers was added by someone else, and the group moderator has deleted offensive comment. Nonetheless, the Tories have since insisted that Rogers should be held accountable because she has remained a member of that group.

The events triggered a debate about social media and politics. Lyle Wetsch, a Memorial University business professor who studies social media, says platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer new ways for politicians to communicate.

"Communication, by its very nature, is bi-directional, it's dialogue,"Wetsch told CBC News. "It's not just talking at constituents, it's listening to them and it's engaging with them."

The issue is the topic for today's question of the day. Do politicians actually need to be on Twitter? Cast a vote in our notably unscientific survey of public opinion, or leave a comment below.