NEWARK, N.J. — Newark Mayor Cory Booker and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom are blazing a new trail in political discourse from opposite sides of the country as they build huge Internet followings on Twitter’s fast-growing social network.
They don’t lead the biggest U.S. cities — San Francisco ranks 13th and Newark 64th — but have gained prominence by replacing heavily vetted, sterile political prose with personal missives on the stream of consciousness confessional.
So much so that they now have more followers on Twitter than all other mayors, all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 99 of 100 U.S. senators, and 49 of the 50 state governors — among users carrying the “political” tag on the Twitterholic tabulation site.
Online social networks are rapidly making traditional political advertisements obsolete, said veteran political strategist Joe Trippi, who used Internet fundraising to propel Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. The social networks are giving elected leaders such as Booker and Newsom a way to satiate the public’s hunger for transparency.
“These are the first politicians to build considerable followings on Twitter, and they’re doing it by taking the filter out and showing people who they really are,” Trippi said of Booker and Newsom. “Twitter and these other social networks . . . demand authenticity. This is the future.”
As recently as May 9, Booker had 3,909 followers. That number soared after he took over the postings — called “tweets” — and replaced his staff’s staid announcements about upcoming appearances and fundraisers with a flood of personal reflections and misgivings.
The Twitter format, which limits messages to 140 characters, seems tailor-made for Booker and Newsom — both witty, charismatic leaders on the rise. Newsom, 41, has amassed about 497,000 followers, most of them since March. Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco.
As of Saturday, Newsom ranks ninth on Twitter among all elected officials carrying the “political” tag, according to Twitterholic. Booker is 13th.
Who’s ahead of them? President Barack Obama and former Vice President Al Gore rank first and second, respectively. Sen. John McCain? Fifth. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: 10th.
Tweet-y birds
What they’re saying
Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has 134,000 followers:
“Fell in big hole, climbed out, fell in another hole, climbed out.Again I fell & climbed out. Got good at climbing so I started up a Mountain” (Saturday morning)
“I need a cup of coffee: There’s too much blood in my caffeine system!” (10:02 a.m. Wednesday)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin New som, who has 497,000 followers:
“Just finished running through the Presidio down to Golden Gate Bridge — hard not to love this city!” (12:39 a.m., March 9)
“Just received Sarah Palin calendar from Pat Buchanan — signed — who says bipartisanship is dead?!” (4:55 a.m., Feb. 20)
