Reporter Cody Bloomsburg, covering the 2011 Montana Legislature for the UM School of Journalism’s Community News Service, put out a great feature this week on the growing use of Twitter among legislators and activists in Helena.
Bloomsburg calls the tweets — often categorized under the hashtag #mtleg on Twitter — the “silent digital debate,” though he somewhat deflates that later when his sources say that their use of Twitter is more about disseminating information rather than discussion or opinion.
It’s an article and worth reading to hear from some of the people at the Capitol who are actually using Twitter. I also embedded the #mtleg feed on the article page for your reading enjoyment.
And here’s a few questions to ponder with this post:
- Do you use Twitter?
- Is the #mtleg hashtag a sign that Twitter has become “mainstream” in Montana?
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of legislators using social networking sites during the session (or even during hearings)?
- If you were elected to the legislature, would you communicate with the outside world through a social networking site? Why or why not?