Twitter and Politicians

Truthfully, I never heard of Twitter until it was brought up in lecture, and I was surprised that a site that provided small updates that answer” What are you doing?” was becoming so popular. It wasn’t until recently that I came across a couple of articles which stated that politicians were starting to Twitter for various reasons.

In Politicians using Twitter in growing numbers, Twitter was mentioned as a networking tool that is growing exponentially in popularity. In fact, even McCain, who had previously been mocked for being computer-illiterate, now creates multiple Twitter messages a day (politicians and congressmen boast thousands of followers). This caught my eye because as an economics major, it was especially interesting how the rest of the nation could follow issues such as the bank bailout and the stimulus debate through following Twitter updates that members of Congress post on a Web site or on their cell phones.

In addition, this would help politicians connect directly with the constituents. It’s fascinating how short, instantly transmitted messages that don’t even exceed 140 characters can appeal to the public so much. But as stated in the article, I agree that people are attracted to Twitter posts because they provide “a real glimpse of (my) life and job”.