John Sande IV, an attorney and member of Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas’ government relations and transactional practice groups, recently wrote an article on the use of social media in the Nevada Legislature. Mainly, can policy be debated on Twitter in 140 characters or less?
We all know that many legislators take to social media during campaigning. It's free, and possibly the best way to continually drip messaging, gain followers (support) and amplify a campaign. However, now, it goes a step further. Special interest groups now communicate immediately with legislators and can almost simultaneously speak to their supporters in an effort to engage them to join the conversation.
The #NVLeg has become a popular trending discussion piece between legislators, SIGs, and us perhaps not in the know, but want to be. In the recent SJR 15 debate, folks took to Twitter to provide commentary during the legislative hearing. However, some of that information was erroneous. Egg on face for some people wanting to get the news out fast.
I guess the moral of the story is when it comes to the legislative and political issues, be careful where you get your information before you start RT’ing and sharing what you see. Many people want to jump quick to “scoop” the story in the social media crazy environment. It’s no different than in entertainment, sports, business, etc.
However, as we know, once you put your stamp on it, whether an RT or a share, you’ve validated it for all your followers and friends for better or worse. And there’s no going back. #NVLeg
Click here to download the PDF of the article in its entirety - published in the Northern Nevada Business Weekly July 15, 2013.
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