Social Media and State Legislators

Last week the National Council of State Legislators (NCSL) held a conference in Dell's home town of Austin, Texas with state legislative staff to talk about how to engage with the multiple social media and "new media" alternatives that have proliferated over the last few years.  Being recognized as a leader in the social media space, Dell had several speakers.  Hopefully you followed some if events on Twitter and Facebook. 

Probably the most important point stressed again and again was that legislators need to engage in this space or risk alienating a whole generation of voters.  For these voters, communicating WITH them instead of TO them is key.  They want to be part of the conversation.  It's an exciting time to watch these state legislatures develop their social media strategy.

One of the best panel discussions was lead by Dell's very own Bri Brewer who runs EDU4U.com. Bri moderated the panel "How to Tweet and Not Be a Twit", that included Dell's own Chief Blogger, Lionel Menchaca, Christi Day of Southwest Airlines, Ric Cantrell, Chief Deputy of the Utah Senate and Mike Chapman of Ivy Worldwide. The panel represented diverse interests from public to corporate and offered insights and best practices for getting started and building Twitter strategy. The panelists had a lively discussion from legal risk to training for employees who Tweet. Gene Rose, with NCSL filmed a quick vlog with Bri after the session. Watch the video to hear more about how Twitter can support traditional media strategies.