Mike’s first column on the US Election has been added to the Big Issues website, you can read an excerpt below and the full HERE.

Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park frontman and The Big Issue’s US Election correspondent, says the internet is a political dogfight we need


When The Big Issue asked me to write as their American correspondent on this year’s US presidential election, I knew it was a terrible idea. Writing a column would be an easy way to get myself in trouble, because a) there are plenty of people who devote a lot more time to politics and b) as a member of Linkin Park, I have a lot to lose by diving into a commentary on political events.


Since I am drawn to terrible ideas and obvious risk, I jumped at the opportunity. Here’s the deal: for many, the US presidential election is a virtual ‘spring-cleaning’ time for social media. For as much as I get out of Facebook or Twitter, my timelines can occasionally seem like a minefield of social regret. It’s the middle of a working day, and I casually pop online to see what my friends are up to… then BANG: that person pops up to offend, aggravate or sadden me with some kind of insane outburst about guns, gays, money or religion, and how they all tie in to the great tragedy the world has or will become. Ugh.


For pretty much all of us, this social media sermonising nags at us regularly throughout the year – but election season is the most tantalising time for our social media sage to get his preach on. With each firebomb of socio-political garbage, he draws a line in the sand, declaring: ‘I will unabashedly post links to half-read election campaign hyperbole until the end of my days, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!’ Unfollow!


But then again, for as much as I hate this pest, he’s obviously not going to stop me from using social media. I don’t even think of all the good things sites like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr are good for, because those sites are so tightly woven into the fibre of everyday life, I’m not even aware I’m using them any more.