Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Embraces Social Media

Many politicians think that a tweet is something given to kids in costume on Halloween, but Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick regularly posts videos on his YouTube channel, has collected more than 8,000 Twitter followers, had his administration launch the Commonwealth Conversations blog, encourages staffers to post photos on Flickr and maintains both a personal Facebook page and a fan site, the Boston Herald reported.

As an example the Herald reported that during a stop at the Greater Boston Food Bank to help load turkeys for the needy, Patrick’s handlers shot video and pictures, while he tweeted about his visit on his BlackBerry.

Patrick told the Herald:

In this time, if you don’t have a presence through some of the new social-media networks, then you’re missing something. I would say in some respects, it’s overtaking or certainly supplementing traditional media.

That’s not just a strategy for winning an election: That’s really an outlook about what a strong democracy ought to be and how we build communities.

I’m a little wordy, so 140 characters is a real challenge.

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