RETWEET!!! We need better #P2 message coordination on Twitter
One of things the Netroots needs to do better is to retweet each other and progressive elected officials in greater, coordinated mass. We need to take a lesson from the right, because they have this nailed.
Take a look at the RT machines that spring into action whenever Eric Cantor tweets via @GOPLeader or @MichelleMalkin tweets. The right on Twitter swing into action to retweet fast and furiously.
We need to beat them at this game.
A few things need to happen to make this work.
1. Unifying hashtag… we already have #p2 out there… keep an eye on it and retweet when you see something good from our side. Set up a column in your Tweetdeck/Hootsuite/Sessmic app for #p2, or just bookmark a search page on Twitter for #p2.
2. Monitor progressive members of Congress and retweet them. Twitter lists already exist here: House Dems, Senate Dems, and House Progressive Caucus. When they tweet something worth retweeting, do it. Add the #p2 hashtag if it isn’t already there.
3. Monitor the right and counter their hashtag and tweet campaigns with counter messaging. Be sure to use their hashtag in order to deny them dominance over it (I call this Denial of Hashtag, or DOH!). If they say, “Government doesn’t belong between a person and their doctor,” ask them if that includes between a woman and her doctor discussing reproductive health issues. Use these ready made lists to follow: House GOP members are here and Senate GOP members are here.
Some examples of things in the recent past explain the importance of this effort:
Leading up to the anniversary of the Stimulus (ARRA), @GOPleader launched a campaign to bad mouth the stimulus using the #stimulus hashtag. We should’ve been all over that with counter messaging. Many progressive activists were, but our elected officials were absent, as were the majority of us. We need to rally the troops.
During the vote for the Ryan Budget, the House Progressive Caucus was promoting their amendment with the #budget4all hashtag. We should’ve pushed that from Natchez to Mobile, from Memphis to St. Joe… and across the country.
If you’ve got a blog, let your readers know to participate if they are also on Twitter.If you are on Facebook or Twitter… start your engines and push out our messaging. But don’t just reinvent the wheel by saying it yourself… RETWEET!!! Build up massive numbers of retweets for our best tweets. The impact will not go unnoticed.
We need to create and sustain a coordinated WALL OF PROGRESSIVE MESSAGING on Twitter… and elsewhere. Unless we are coordinated, we cannot expect to counter coordinated messaging efforts from the right.
If you want cues, follow me at @drdigipol (personal) and @CAPaction (work). I am trying to feed this beast. Help me.
Now, hop to it, my friends. :)
