“The way you conduct business in this chamber has distinct advantages over the way things have been done lately in Washington, D.C… Part of that is because you work in the state you serve and Washington is 2,000 miles away. Here you’re held accountable for transparency while in Washington it’s become the norm to negotiate from the dead of night, behind closed doors. That’s why I’ve been in the export business for the last 9 years. I’ve been in the business of exporting Montana common sense, and some values to boot.”
-Rep. Denny Rehberg to MT Legislative Assembly

U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT)

U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)

U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)

Montana has three members of the United States Congress, Representative Dennis “Denny” Rehberg (R) and Senators Jon Tester (D) and Max Baucus (D). Of our three congressmen, Mr. Rehberg has demonstrated the greatest affinity for social media and has been a great advocate of governmental responsibility and transparency. On March 13, 2009 he addressed the 61st Montana Legislative Assembly in Helena and on March 20th uploaded a four-part series to YouTube. Several quotes from Mr. Rehberg’s speech are highlighted in this post.

The first part of his address is entitled “Government Transparency”. This is primarily the topic I’ll be writing about today, as it relates to social media and Twitter.

Mr. Rehberg responded to @bcavanaugh with a nice Twitter DM on April 3, 2009. Encouraging!

Sen. Jon Tester's website encourages you to "Share Your Thoughts". All you need to do is fill out this 16 field web form.

Of Montana’s congressmen, Denny has taken great initiative in regards to using social media. Neither Senator Tester or Max Baucus have much of a presence to speak of. (See a Google search for “Max Baucus” or a Google search for “Jon Tester”)

• Sen. Max Baucus’ official website
• Sen. Jon Tester’s official website
• Rep. Denny Rehberg’s Twitter profile

Rehberg, a Republican from Montana, has a Facebook profile, his own YouTube channel and his official website lets users sign up for an e-newsletter or to send him an e-mail. All great steps in the right direction and ones that far outpace either of his U.S. Senate counterparts. But, couldn’t Rep. Rehberg be using Twitter to carry his transparency and accountability further?

So what’s my beef with Representative Denny Rehberg?

Social media is about connections. Real, personal connections with real people. If I want canned news releases or a daily schedule of appearances, I can find that easily enough. But why isn’t Representative Rehberg making a genuine effort to connect with Montana’s constituents, voters and taxpayers using Twitter.com?

“I’m under no illusions that things are tough right now in America. In February alone we lost 650,000 jobs… Those figures bring the total lost to almost a staggering 5 million. The national unemployment rate now stands at the highest level since Dec 1983… But these are just numbers that politicians and economists use to objectively measure the real pain that people are feeling.”

-Rep. Denny Rehberg to MT Legislative Assembly

Twitter thrives on connections with people. People who are incredibly similar and completely diverse. They run the gamut from PR professionals, software entrepreneurs and bicycle mechanics to tech gurus, downhill skiers and journalists.

If there were ever a group of Montanans you should be conversing with isn’t it Montana Tweeters?

Representative Denny Rehberg’s Twitter stats as of April 2, 2009

• Denny’s first Tweet was made on Aug. 6th, 2008… About 7 months ago.
• As of this writing, Denny had made 104 updates… That’s an average of about 1 Tweet every two days.
• His 3rd Tweet was to Rob Blue and reads as follows…
  @RobertBluey thanks for helping me learn Twitter. What do they say? The Revolution Will Be Twittered!
• The vast majority of the 63 people who Rep. Rehberg follows are fellow politicians. In fact all are fellow Republicans.
• Denny Rehberg has 836 people (followers) who are interested in what he has to say. The majority are just regular ol’ people.
• Initially, Rep. Rehberg posted his Tweets through the Twitter.com website. Now he mostly uses TwitterBerry, indicating he has Twitter access anywhere his cell phone works.

More Twitter statistics for Denny Rehberg can be had here…

Montana sunset. Photo by jnewland.

In Montana 300 people is a crowd

A few weeks ago I held a town hall meeting in Kalispell. I wanted to talk to real Montanans about the economy. I wanted to hear their thoughts and feelings, because numbers on a economic spreadsheet don’t give that kind of insight. More than 300 people filled the room…

-Rep. Denny Rehberg to MT Legislative Assembly

Mr. Rehberg, you have 836 more Montanan’s right here on Twitter who would love for you to engage them in conversation! I’m willing to bet that you can find 15 minutes per week, to ask genuine questions and listen thoughtfully to your Montana Tweeple.

I believe that there is clearly a role for government in our lives, but there is also the need for individual responsibility, effort and accountability.

-Rep. Denny Rehberg to MT Legislative Assembly

I absolutely guarantee that as soon as you flip your social media strategy upside down you’ll begin to leverage the platform to it’s fullest. Stop repeating and start engaging one-on-one. Your love of the Montana lifestyle is apparent, and Twitter is the perfect way to show it.

“…I’ll tell you what, you never know when you’ll get the opportunity to share a little bit of Montana with someone. Last September then-Senator Barack Obama tracked me down on the House floor. He didn’t want to talk the campaign or the economic crisis. He wanted to talk about flyfishing and his newfound love for Montana.”

-Rep. Denny Rehberg to MT Legislative Assembly

Downtown Livingston, Montana. Photo by tofslie.

What our readers can do to help

I’m asking each of my blog readers to help Representative Denny Rehberg use Twitter to it’s fullest and for the benefit of Montana in general. If you’re compelled to assist, will you kindly do the following?

First, if you live in Big Sky Country, please follow @DennyRehberg. By demonstrating you’re interested in what our elected officials have to say, perhaps we can encourage a two-way conversation.

Second, visit TweetCongress.org and petition Senators Baucus and Tester to join the conversation.

“We believe transparent government is better government. Twitter enables real conversation between lawmakers and voters, in real time. Find your representatives in Congress, follow them and give them a tweet full!”

-from www.TweetCongress.org

Finally, send an @message to Rep. Rehberg, politely (and in 140 characters or less) suggesting 3 other Montanans you think he should connect with. Something like:

@dennyrehberg I think you should follow @name, @name, @name. They’re from #Montana too!

10 Twitter tips for politicians

Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range. Photo by 20after4.

Bridget Cavanaugh got my wheels turning with her respectfully-written letter to Representative Rehberg, so I do owe her a debt of inspiration…Here are the social media tips I’d like to add to the conversation:

1. Create a Twitter plan. Start small and grow with the medium. As busy as you are, consider having a staff member select several Tweeters you should be in touch with that week, or a few topics you can address for the week.
2. Take time to Tweet the things you’re passionate about. When you do it is immediately apparent to everyone listening and helps to keep the tone casual. It’s all about showing you’re just another human!
3. Re-tweet other’s thoughts and musings when they mirror your own or are a good topic of conversation. Not only is this a great timesaver, it demonstrates your open-minded and interested.
4. Photos! Services such as Twitpic and Flickr allow you to upload photos on-the-go. Almost every BlackBerry and cellphone has a camera, so give your readers something they can’t get anywhere else. It may be as simple as a snapshot of where you are now, or someone interesting that you’ve met – we’ll still enjoy seeing what’s going on.
5. Add a Twitter badge to your website. You’ll be absolutely amazed at how many people will find you there and tune in for updates. Encourage people to follow you and to be active participants.
6. Download TweetDeck. It’ll help you filter out the noise and hone in on important conversations taking place right now.
7. Use the Twitter search function at least once per month – even more is better. You can do this through a program like TweetDeck or on the Twitter site itself. The link I’ve provided here will even filter out results for “Hannah Montana”!. There are lots of great tutorials about how to search Twitter for relevant conversations.
8. Start a blog. Your blog is your social media platform. When you need more than 140 characters, this is the place. Blog posts certainly need not be the length of this article. I really enjoy Seth Godin’s blog where articles are short, but consistently added. In fact, if you send an e-mail, I’ll gladly get you started pro-bono.
9. Do ask questions. I can’t even begin to tell you the wealth of Montana knowledge and wisdom just waiting to respond – and who knows we may all learn a thing or two!
10. Don’t be dissuaded by the naysayers or those who just want to argue. There’s are jerks who love to Tweet before they think – we call them Twatters because of their ability to do nothing but whine. Open minded Tweeple far outnumber those with a bad TwitterTude!

I’m aware of the challenges facing our country and the world… The wellbeing of almost a million people in Montana and millions throughout the nation… They know that we’re having difficulty and much of their future is at stake.”

-Rep. Denny Rehberg to MT Legislative Assembly

I welcome reader comments…

Tell me your thoughts below. Am I completely off my rocker? What was your “ah-ha” moment with Twitter? Do you have a social media tip to share with Representative Denny Rehberg?