Michael Williams for Senate Hits 3000th Twitter Followers

By Chris Leonard How We Got Here & Where Were Going Last week a man named Jason Spooner (@TinCupCoffee) from Fort Worth became Michael Williams 3000th follower on the social networking site Twitter. 3000 isnt an earth-shattering number but it is an interesting milestone for this campaign. And for someone like me who has dedicated his career to exploring the intersection of electoral politics and technology its a great time to pause and think about the last ten-or-so years and to look forward to a future that includes a United States Senator Michael Williams. In 1998 then-Governor George W. Bush appointed his friend Michael Williams to fill a vacancy on the Texas Railroad Commission. It was the same year that I found myself beginning a career in Texas politics and learning to build web sites. Fast forward to 2004 when I began working formally with the Williams campaign. Right away I realized that that the Commissioner understood the conversational aspects of political technology a concept that most politicos still struggle with today.  Before Twitter Facebook and Flickr before the term social media" before the rise of Barack Obama Michael Williams got it". An early version of our campaign site invited Texans to join the Commissioner on his blog for a robust exchange of ideas":     …think of this site as your dining room table dorm room or local feed store. Think of the blogs posted here as an invitation for a powerful discussion about things that matter.  Take this as your venue to weigh in on matters of faith family hope opportunity safety and prosperity." These days Commissioner Williams is an avid Twitter user (yes he does it himself). Hes at home both at Texas Tea Parties and on technology panels. Earlier this year he received a Texas Social Media Award from the Austin American-Statesmen the only elected official to receive the honor. Of course knowing how to use tools effectively doesnt matter much if you arent sure what youre building. In other words what does all of this web stuff have to do with the campaign? In his ten years on the Railroad Commission Michael Williams has proven himself to be a model Republican leader something Texas Republicans should clearly expect from a U.S. Senate candidate:     * He has a passion for innovative public policy and uses that passion to solve complex modern problems.     * He is an unapologetic consistent conservative who has reduced the size and bureaucracy of the Commission and even turned down more than $45000 worth of pay raises given to him by the Texas Legislature.     * He can both educate and inspire qualities necessary to rally support and respond to recent elections in which Republicans have not performed well. What makes Commissioner Williams stand out is his ability to use a variety of methods to communicate his ideas whether by stump speech online video blog posts or tweets. Just as President Obama used social technologies to augment a traditional campaign plan the Commissioner can combine the best of the old and new to inform inspire and empower. Connecting with 3000 friends in Twitter is the beginning of an experiment in conversational and participatory democracy one that will extend beyond the campaign and hopefully into a seat in the United States Senate. We have a lot of exciting plans for the next few months and hope to hear more from you along the way.  Have any thoughts about our web site or social media efforts? Email us and let us know. Or even better follow Commissioner Williams on Twitter if you havent already and join the conversation there. Heres to the next 3000 friends on Twitter and then some.