Oregon politicos on Twitter
Kari Chisholm
Over the last few months, Twitter has spread like wildfire - especially in the media and political worlds. Members of Congress are twittering, journalists are twittering, activists and bloggers are twittering...
OK, so what the heck is Twitter - and why should you care? In short, Twitter is a like a group messaging service that lets your friends stay in touch with you; and you, in touch with them. Messages are limited to 140 characters, which means that the conversations are short and to the point - none of that throat-clearing happy-talk that you get on the phone and by email.
For example: Just the other day, I tweeted - "Date night! Anybody have a good recommendation for a relatively new restaurant in Portland?" - and immediately got back a handful of suggestions.
But the best thing about Twitter is the cultural expectation that you don't have to read it all. Unlike your cluttered email inbox where every message needs to get handled (delete? file? reply?), a stream of "tweets" from your friends doesn't require your attention. It's perfectly acceptable to dip in and dip out as time and interest allow.
And that's one reason why politicians are finding it a useful way to reach out. As I told the Statesman-Journal earlier this month:
"One of the challenges for any elected official is figuring out: 'How often do I try and communicate with my supporters, my constituents, the voters, the public? Do I send out an e-mail every single day, telling them what I'm up to?' Kind of intrusive," he said. "And yet, there's some people who care and do want to be in touch with everything. Folks who want to pay attention obsessively can do that, and those who don't, don't have to."
The brevity and immediacy also makes it useful:
"There's not a lot of writing to be done. Every time an elected official sits down to write a three-page memo or e-mail, there's a lot of folks on staff who want to see that," he said.When consulting about Twitter — Chisholm is a fan — he mentions how easy it can be.
"I say, 'Can you write one sentence a day about what you're up to?' And they all say, 'Yeah, I can write one sentence a day,'" he said. "Each of those individual 140-character messages aren't meaningful in themselves, but over time, they tend to paint a picture of what that elected official cares about, what fills their day. It gives the constituents a chance to see that picture and know what the priorities are. That, to me, is the real value."
So, which Oregon politicos have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon? Unlike the national level, where Republicans think it's the path back to power, most Oregon political tweeters are Democrats.
Here's my big list of Oregon elected officials and recent statewide candidates. Democrats: Sam Adams, Brad Avakian, Phil Barnhart, Earl Blumenauer, Bill Bradbury, Jeff Cogen, Larry Galizio, Randy Leonard, Josh Marquis, Jeff Merkley, Steve Novick, Kurt Schrader, Jefferson Smith, Pete Sorenson, Ben Westlund. And Republicans: Allen Alley, Kevin Cameron, Rick Dancer, Bruce Starr.
Update: I missed Ted Wheeler. And Brian Clem started tweeting tonight!
Since there's no searchable global directory for Twitter users, I'm sure I've forgotten someone, so feel free to chime in via comments and I'll update this list.
A smattering of your BlueOregon editors and contributors are on Twitter as well: Jeff Alworth, Carla Axtman, T.A. Barnhart, Kari Chisholm, Karol Collymore, Jesse Cornett, Paul Gronke, Randy Leonard, Anne Martens, Steve Novick, Chuck Sheketoff.
Oh, and you can also get live headlines from BlueOregon via Twitter.
To get started on Twitter, just visit Twitter.com and sign up. It may not make sense at first - I was definitely baffled - but give it a few days. Follow (i.e. "listen") to a few friends, politicians, celebrities, journalists; and post a few notes of your own for your followers (i.e. "listeners"). And check out tweeternet.com for more simple explanations of what Twitter is and how it might be useful.
In the comments, tell us how you're using Twitter and who you're listening to. And feel free to mention your Twitter username.
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4:35 p.m.
Apr 27, '09
@tedwheeler. Enjoy.
4:42 p.m.
Apr 27, '09
I have a hard time imagining anyone wants to follow me, but it's worth noting that I've been ultra lame about updating this twitter feed. I'm better about my beer feed:
http://twitter.com/beervana
Apr 27, '09
twitter.com/thinkjake
Jeff -- twitter.com/beervana is great.
Apr 27, '09
Jeff, most of the pols Kari's listed haven't tweeted since last year... so don't feel ultra lame... maybe just an eensy lame...
7:10 p.m.
Apr 27, '09
I'm relatively new at it, but I use it mostly to recognize work done by Multnomah County and to post recent information. It scrolls directly to my County web page and Facebook page. Its a good idea to learn to use Tinyurl, too, to save space (just posted my new video on Sellwood Bridge, for example)
http://tinyurl.com/c6llfw
I've seen it used effectively to notice meetings, gather input (like you suggested on restaurants) and even to track results of meetings as they unfold...
Apr 27, '09
Aha! I was wondering where all the new PDX followers were coming from. Thanks Kari for the shoutout, the list and the overview for newbies. I adore twitter as both a headline service and an always-on conversation (and I use Tweetdeck to keep it always on). BUT - it took me about six months to "get it," and you have to be following about 100 people before it gets interesting.
Tips - to find people to follow, look at who people you trust are following (Kari, for example). Or do a search for your city or your hobby. Put up a picture and a bio so that people have a reason to follow you back. Check out Mashable for how to's on everything.
Happy tweeting.
8:01 p.m.
Apr 27, '09
Tweeters like Ted are great because they keep us informed what they are doing on the job). i've been following Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself), not because he's going to talk to me (his followers are in the hundreds of thousands) but because he's interesting and it's new, original Neil all day long! w00t. not all of it worth reading, but enough. same with Felicia Day, (rhymes with "delicious yay") of "Dr Horrible" & "The Guild" fame.
Twitter eptomizes GIGO: type in 140 chars of bleah, you're a bleah tweeter. put some thought & care into it, try to say something meaningful, and you'll be worth following. Henry Kraemer of the Bus Project (@HenryKraemer) is current king of the pithy political punditry. well, i enjoy him. @trappedinawell is fun; i don't spend that much time on Twitter - jeez, it's only 140 chars, how long can it take to read? - but i do enjoy the experience.
favorite tweet of the day: there's nothing more boring than blogs about how stupid Twitter is.
9:15 p.m.
Apr 27, '09
Gasp! Sorry, Ted. You're actually one of the more interesting political tweeters in town.
And yeah, some of the folks mentioned haven't tweeted in a while. Hopefully this post will reenergize some of them.
And, Anne, those are fantastic tips. Thank you.
Apr 27, '09
I wonder how Twitter will run the deeply lame news channels in Portland? As an entertainment, I've begun to match Drudge Report (scabrously muddy linkpage, conservative in leaning, but non-partisan if it's dirt...) against all Portland "news" channels' nightly news - it's just a bit too closely-matched, the leads and links on each. In fact, pitifully, Drudge and generic wireservice lead much of the time...
It will be interesting to see how Twitter affects the already broken-down quality of coverage we receive on tne networks here locally.
If any of you have intimate buddy relations with the local tv personalities, please provide them an exquisite Tweet-List to help us start off in a strong way!
:).... friends of pipe will be active as soon as the new build of that web is up.
Apr 27, '09
I think politicos like it because it witnessed a remarkable phenomenon last fall. Basically the twits decided about a week before the election that it was over and started celebrating. The momentum no doubt garnered a number of last minute undecideds. I can't believe that some of our office seeking friends didn't notice that.
Tweeters like Ted are great because they keep us informed what they are doing on the job).
My waking inspiration, this very a.m., was that they need something like three radio buttons on the sidebar, labeled work, home, out and about, and associate a color with each one. Then, when you tweet, the message would be displayed on your running stream in the appropriate color, implicitly providing context.
You get comments like, "this is so boring", and you have to read back through everything to see what it so boring, but if it were in teh work color, one would instantly understand. A simple comment like "nice buns" illustrates...
A quick census of likely usernames indicates that most your favorite trolls are there as well!
2:32 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
i've been following Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself), not because he's going to talk to me (his followers are in the hundreds of thousands)
Actually, you'd be surprised. I had a brief chat with Ashton Kutcher on Saturday about the NFL draft. His note, my comment, his reply.
8:29 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
Kari, thanks for the list of local political tweeters. Now if they'd just start tweeting once in a while, my life would be complete! I think they should blow off at least one important policy meeting a day to tweet me.
I'm at
8:30 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
OOps, something was technically wrong. Once more with feeling:
@peteforsyth
Apr 28, '09
I've always wanted to know about Kevin Cameron's stream of consciousness rantings...
9:16 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
So if one were to aggregate all of the 140 character messages in ....say.....a given week for those who want to keep up on policy issues but are not interested in the elected official's choice of a soy latte, what would it be called?
A digest?
An email?
Does twitter serve any function beyond vanity for the tweeter? How about the tweetie? Do they get anything beyond some satisfaction of having excanged sentences with a celebrity?
Is it (slightly interactive) entertainment or is it a tool?
9:59 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
@Pat Ryan:
BWAHAHAHA! Have fun with your abacus.
10:24 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
Hm-m-m-m-m..........
The abacus was/is definitely a tool, like the slide rule and the calculator, while paper/rock/scissors, roulette, and One Potato are definitely not.
I don't begrudge anyone their entertainment. Just asking if that's what this is.......
10:29 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
Jake, thanks!
Kari, thanks to you, too. Spurred by the recognition that it's been five months since my last tweet (let's see, five months--that would have been right about the time of ... the DNC Convention), I have now endeavored to turn over a new leaf. Tweets to all, and to all a good tweet!
10:32 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
@Pat Ryan
Well, in asking that question, you seem to completely ignore Kari's post, in which he explained a couple of the ways it can be a tool.
There's more to the answer of course -- but it sounds to me like you're more interested in grumbling than learning. Or, to put it another way, you sound more like you're commenting for your own entertainment, than for any real purpose.
10:41 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
Who has an over/under on how many of those listed tweet their own and how many "ghost-tweet?"
Apr 28, '09
Twitter is for the birds!
11:21 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
Pat: but are not interested in the elected official's choice of a soy latte
Well, if that's what they're tweeting about, that would be stupid. There are many variations on the theme out there - Keith Olbermann's protestation that he doesn't care about "what kind of bagel some guy is eating!"
If you're tweeting about bagels - unless they're really, really good bagels - you're wasting everyone's time.
Obviously, this is a brand new technology. Some people will use it well; others will fail miserably. The ones that use it well will prosper, the others not so much.
Certainly, I un-follow people that I find tedious or dull. Just like I make polite excuses and wander away if I find myself trapped with a dull person at a party. Things will shake out, not to worry.
Pete: Now if they'd just start tweeting once in a while, my life would be complete! I think they should blow off at least one important policy meeting a day to tweet me.
Well, part of the reason for this post was to provide some encouragement. As for blowing off meetings... as you know, it really doesn't take that much time. It seems every meeting starts with five minutes of chit-chat, coffee-pouring, and waiting for some guy to show up. That's perfect twitter time.
11:23 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
As for ghost-tweeting... that's a terrible idea. The whole point is to have real-time instant reactions to the world around you.
And god forbid someone is standing in a room when a politician tweets - only to look up and see that there's not a mobile device in sight.
Apr 28, '09
http://twitter.com/stapilus
It's a good quick check for headlines and thoughts, if you've got a good batch of tweeters to follow. Thanks for adding to the list of political tweeters - I did a post on that on my blog a while back, but quite a few have come on since then.
11:36 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
@Kari
My comment was meant as a joke..though in hindsight I see there wasn't really a punchline in there anywhere. Damn this Internet and its infallible memory!
The serious side of my comment is that I am a bit impatient for local pols to start to "get" Twitter. I'm a bit astonished that it could be such a vital part of the Obama phenomenon, but that locals would be so slow to pick up on it.
And, there are many ways to astroturf -- actually, I'd rather see an effective staffer running the Twitter stream, than a politician who sends out comments but never replies.
Effective two-way communication can run through staff (in a well-organized office), but direct tweeting by itself does not prevent one-way communication we're all so tired of.
11:37 a.m.
Apr 28, '09
By the way, Darcy Burner is a rather long-time local political tweeter. But I'll leave finding her to your readers -- I'm not sure how public she is about it.
Apr 28, '09
Two others in the Statehouse: @davidcmolina and @d_williams, lobbyist for the Oregon School Boards Association.
I'm sure there's lots more but those are two I know.
Abraham @abrahamhyatt
4:01 p.m.
Apr 28, '09
@Pat Ryan, I see your apprehension. I too see Twitter somewhere between as a personal vanity project, "OMG, what should I wear today?" And information sharing, "Arlen Specter just did what?" Personally, I am guilty of Twitter overshares. If it lasts, we'll see how many of us survive it.
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