The End of Lobbyists. Ordinary Citizens Lobby Online with TweetCongress
“Wow!” Is all I could say when I read this article on Mashable on Tweetcongress. If you are a Twitter fan, as I am, you’ve seen how using it can radically increase your exposure and eventually drive sales.
It can also help you fix your computer, find people to meet, hotels and excursions in places you travel and put you in touch with a real persona at your favorite brands.
It can raise a groundswell of enthusiasm for or against your product, as one of our writers at EcoChild’s Play did recently with her #MotrinMoms campaign.
In the political arena, the power of Twitter and really all social media has made a difference in how messages are communicated between both reporters and ordinary citizens. President-elect, Barack Obama famously used the power of the internet to harness thousands of votes and create the first truly viral campaign. And has and continues to actively encourage access through the internet to him and his people through a variety of social media tools.
Now we turn to lobbyist. The new administration, one that bemoaned the power of industry in Washington during the campaign, is rather, shall we say, not fond of lobbyists. They have, what appear to many to be draconian rules about serving in their cabinet – what? I can’t lobby industry while serving in the cabinet or can’t have just finished a stint or even start one if I leave?
No worries, Mr. President-Elect! Tweet Congress brings lobbying to the people! As stated on the website:
We the Tweeple of the United States, in order to form a more perfect government, establish communication, and promote transparency do hereby Tweet the Congress of the United States of America.
If you have a Twitter account, you too can get in touch with your representative in Congress via social media. So what, you say? I could always write him or her a letter or call his or her office.
Ah, but could you copy or 1000 or 10,000 other people on the letter? Could they then forward it to another 100, 1000 or 10,000 people? Sure…but with a lot of extra work. Now, the power of Twitter lets you do exactly that.
I see this as a boon for the green industry and truly, every small industry with few big corporate players in it. I mean really, who lobbies for green in Washington? A few large environmental groups, surely, but wouldn’t we rather they spend the money to protect the environment rather than on paying power brokers to get their issues in front of Congress?
Radical change is coming! Check out Tweetcongress today!
