Being ‘Friended’ by a Politician

I was on Facebook recently, minding my own business  (Well, ok, I was minding everyone else’s business.  I was on Facebook.) when I got a “friend” request from from someone I didn’t know. Nothing unusual there.  I’m sure we all get tons of requests from strangers.  In fact, a vast majority of my “friends” are other Realtors who, I guess, just search for other Realtors using social media.

I’ll also admit to being a little bit of a Facebook and Twitter whore.  You know, just “friend” or “follow” and 9 times out of 10, I’ll reciprocate.  Hey, I have an ego and lots of friends and followers (I particularly like followers) are nice.

Well, anyway, there I was just clicking around when I saw this request and, of course, there is really very limited information about the person.  Maybe some mutual firends or a little personal info but not much else.  So, I decided to accept and check into it a little more.  I could always un-friend later.

Is She a Realtor or a Politician?  She’s Both!

It turns out this woman — a member of the State Senate — showed her Realtor card first in the Employer line up…then attorney…then, oh yeah, State Senator. What’s really baffling is that I’m not even a direct constituent.  She actually represents another Legislative District.

The more I thought about it, the more baffled I was.  I’m not a huge contributor to individual campaigns. Sure, I give a decent amount to RPAC (and you should, too) and there are a couple of individuals I particularly like but this State Senator wasn’t someone on my radar screen.  Then the light bulb went off.  Of course, the Senator of Facebook has some diligent staffer busily accumulating friends in the event they might provc useful down the road.

Can I Be Co-Opted Through Social Media?

You know, there are a couple of business folks I work with because they’re in the social media circle. The title guy I use is competent, thorough and on Facebook.  A lender I worked with for years recently jumped on Facbook and I decided to stick with him anyway.  However, I’ve also seen all manner of other vendors want to hook up with me on Facebook and Twitter and sorta, kinda hope I’ll refer them some business.  I’m wondering if this politician (or her staffer) is thinking the same thing.

Is it a good political strategy to get as many friends and followers as possible in the hopes of garnering a legion of supporters and/or contributors?  I guess it worked for Obama.  Can it work for the local guys, too?

A Postscript

Benn, get well. Stay well. Live long and prosper.  My thoughts are with you, dude…and with Lani.