This week we saw former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announce his presidential bid online, a breakdown of online Klout for presidential candidates, Twitter’s CEO announced as part of a White House telecommunication advisory council, and an official White House rapid response Twitter feed.
This weekly series picks out the week’s top stories in the intersection of digital technology and politics.
Tim Pawlenty Announces Presidential Bid on YouTube
Tim Pawlenty announced he was running for president last Sunday in a video posted to YouTube. Oddly enough, the video actually pre-empted Pawlenty’s formal announcement planned for the following day, reported the New York Times.
Pawlenty calls out President Oba ma for giving fancy speeches rather than fixing problems and claims that he, and not Obama, has the courage to tackle tough issues. Using YouTube may also help give Pawlenty’s image some color.
Which Presidential Candidate Has the Most Klout?
Every 2012 presidential candidate has so far embraced social media … but has social media embraced them? Lee + dela decided to take a look at the group’s online influence according to their Klout scores. Klout is an online metric that measures the reach, power and general influence of any Twitter account. Though it’s far from a definitive standard, the scores give a good impression of how the candidates stack up. Obama leads with with a score of 88. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is second-highest with 79; Newt Gingrich is at 74; and Pawlenty is the lowest with 66.
Twitter CEO Named to Obama’s Advisory Committee
Seems like Obama really likes Silicon Valley. In a Whi te House statement...
