A couple hundred members of the Grand Old Party got a crash course on new media this morning as part of the second day of the state Republican convention here in Vancouver.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are key to spreading word-of-mouth, driving traffic to pro-conservative sites and even to activism, a panel of the party’s top Tweeters told a workshop.
The panel talked strategy on how best to engage a large group, including by staying active and staying civil online.
“We’re building a huge network, with everyone here and everyone back at home that supports Republicans,” said Peter Cowman, communications director for the state party.
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Since the 2008 presidential election, the right wing has reclaimed the top spot on the web, said 3rd Congressional District chair and panel presenter Nansen Malin, who boasts over 217,000 followers on Twitter.
“I’m able to move a message out to millions of people in a few minutes,” Malin said. “I can break stories and drive news.”
But many of the workshop attendees — a crowd with plenty of salt in with the pepper in their hair — were also looking for more of a how-to.
One delegate said he was from a rural area, where “when you mention ‘tweet,’ it’s time to refill the bird feeder.”
Panelist Chris Widener, former Senate candidate and founder of “Positively Republican,” the largest political group on Facebook, assured folks that it’s gotten much easier to both start a Facebook page, but also to fill it out. He explained there are tabs that a new member can scroll through to put as much — or as little — as they want to about themselves on the page.
“There’s a tab for interests: You can go in and put fishing, NASCAR, shooting, or whatever,” Widener said.
Along with Widener, Malin and Cowman, the panel included Erik Telford, the director of communications for Americans for Prosperity; and moderator Bill Bryant, port commissioner with the Seattle Port Commission.
Read more in tomorrow’s edition of The Columbian.
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