Partisan Hobo

140 characters: Applauding political leaders who Twitter

Yesterday, I wrote this, and I meant it:

In an age where we desperately need more transparency from our political leaders, every politician who uses social media tools like Twitter should be applauded. I can live with spelling mistakes and misplaced apostrophes. I can live with occasional rugby game updates or chutney recipes. What I absolutely cannot live with is a politician who hides from the public or who dodges accountability.

In that spirit, I did some digging. Hand claps all around for the following politicians using Twitter to break down barriers. Some do it better than others, but the tool is there and it’s being used. I’m interested to see where it takes public discourse.

U.K.

• The British PM takes the cake with a whopping 300,000 or so followers, and some of the most poetic and scene-setting tweets around.

• Nick Clegg

  Australia
  

• Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd

  USA
  

• San Fran mayor Gavin Newsom (who lives up to left coast’s high tech reputation by tossing in a podcast and a blog)

• 69 U.S. Senators and Members of Congress, documented by the good folks at Source Watch.

• Even President Obama’s Twitter feed flickered back to life today

  Canada
  

• Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper

• NDP Leader Jack Layton

• Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe

• Green Party Leader Elizabeth May

• Alberta premier Ed Stelmach

• BC premier Gordon Campbell

• Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson

• MP Jason Kenney

• Ontario MPP Tim Hudak. (Got active around Feb 5th, which is also interesting given rumblings about leadership aspirations…)

• Toronto City Councillor Adam Giambrone

• Toronto City Councillor Joe Mihevc

• Toronto City Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong

As I said, not everyone uses Twitter well (I’m looking at you Stephen Harper), but that as more to do with the message than the messenger. That, and it’s new. Heck, we all fumble around trying to figure out what to say, when to say it, and how to say it in 140 characters or less. And I will always come down on the side of the people who TRY.

P.S. An interesting article about the way one premier and Opposition leader in Australia used Twitter to criticize the government. Now, I’m looking at YOU Michael Ignatieff.

Update: David Akin follows up with a thorough summary of Canadian Political Twits.

Tags: barack obama, david miller, gordon brown, michael ignatieff, stephen harper, tim hudak, Twitter

1 Comment to 140 characters: Applauding political leaders who Twitter

1. 

   For the most comprehensive, filterable & sortable list of Canadian political tweeters visit
   http://politwitter.ca/page/canadian-politics-twitters
Trevor on July 21st, 2009

Leave a comment