by Twitter town hall meetings? Yes, today, even the Democrats in Washington are getting into the social media revolution. Hoping that they’ve found a “secret weapon” to gaining back a majority in the House in 2012, they are getting into the Twitter revolution.
Social Media Savvy
They are hoping to become more savvy to social media, in an attempt to stay more connected to their constituents and to draw people back into their favor.As Rep. Mike Honda told attendees of the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in February, “I think when we have more air time and utilize technology … we can focus on getting control back of Congress in 2012.”
Twitter Town Hall
As a first example of their intent to win people back through social media, 20 Democrats took part in a Twitter town hall meeting last week. This hour long forum, with the hashtag #AskDems, allowed people to ask questions about the budget debate. It was the third most discussed topic on Twitter nationally during that hour.
Media Mentoring
The House has a Democratic Caucus New Media Working Group and they plan to launch a new media mentoring program soon. In addition, House Democrats with Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.) at the helm are starting a monthly “blogger open house” allowing Members to stop in during a two-hour period to talk to bloggers and see what is happening in Congress.Congressional Republicans still outnumber Democrats on Twitter by 134 to 115….but the Democrats are certainly hoping to catch up in the near future.
