To Tweet or not to Tweet: A Question for Politicians
Twitter
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 7, 2009
WASHINGTON – Rep. Barney Frank doesn’t use Twitter. And he doesn’t intend on turning to the microblogging Web site anytime soon, either.
“I’m not that interested in what people had for lunch. Or if they couldn’t get their shoes on in the morning,” Frank said.
But the 4th District Democrat has a Facebook page with more than 9,000 supporters.
Social networking tools are not just the preserve of college students anymore. Increasingly, Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter have turned into an effective means for politicians to reach out to their constituents.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has an extensive Facebook page, an active Twitter account and a blog that he keeps current.
“I like the way the social media has opened up communication to and from elected leaders,” Kerry said in a statement. “I can get a great feel for a wide variety of opinions by reading the responses to blog posts or following the messages I get on Twitter and Facebook.”
For example, here’s a recent tweet from Kerry’s Twitter: “Gearing up for Wednesday. Barbara Boxer and I to introduce Senate climate change bill then. Much more to come.”
Rep. Richard Neal, D-2nd, doesn’t use either Twitter or Facebook, while the Web page for the campaign of Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-5th, has widgets for a Facebook, Flickr and MySpace presence, as well as video clips of campaign events. Widgets are small tabs of information that users can host on their Web sites using HTML code.
However, Tsongas’s Facebook page has restricted privacy, which requires a person’s request to be accepted before gaining access to the profile page. The Web page was created more than two years ago with these settings, but there is a possibility of changing it to a public page, said John Noble, press secretary for Tsongas, in an e-mail message.
Frank’s Facebook page was originally set up by Facebook when the Web site created pages for members of Congress, said Harry Gural, press secretary for Frank. But Frank’s staff has since taken over administrative rights to the Web page and is in charge of its content, which they update about once or twice a week. Frank has also been a contributing writer for The Huffington Post, an online publication.
“Facebook is an important way of reaching out to people who are interested in the issues but who haven’t participated in traditional political ways,” Frank said in a telephone interview. The visual elements of these tools are valuable communication, he said.
The congressman has an interesting opinion about Twitter. “I do not regard 140 characters [the limit imposed on a tweet] a useful way to convey things. Twitter did play an important role in the Iranian revolution, where they were being oppressed. I think if you aren’t being oppressed, you should not restrict yourself to 140 characters.”
Frank does have an unofficial Twitter page that he said he was unaware of. He said it constituted “dishonesty, deception, forgery” and was “very anti-democratic” that someone would attribute statements to him that he never made.
“It’s outrageous. It’s not just unfair to me; it’s most unfair to the readers,” he said. “I don’t want people to think it came from me.”
Not everyone in the Massachusetts delegation is enthusiastic about online tools. Democratic Rep. James McGovern, D-3rd, for example, is slightly more elusive. He maintains only a public Facebook page that his fans and supporters can be a part of. Currently, the site hosts more that 1,700 members and is updated approximately once a week. McGovern’s page differs from Frank’s in that it is mostly supporters, not McGovern, who post to it. i.
“We send out e-mails, we have an e-newsletter that goes out to people, we make phone calls” to reach out to people, said Michael Mershon, press secretary for McGovern. “But Twitter and a blog is just not something he’s interested in.” Elaborating, Mershon added, “They are a new and instantaneous way of communicating with people. It’s important to do as much as we can without being distracted by the bells and whistles and don’t ignore people who communicate using more traditional methods.”
Rep. John Olver, D-1st, has a modest Facebook following of less than 300 supporters and no Twitter presence. Neal’s office could not be reached for a comment.
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