Earlier this month Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) sent a tweet right from the floor of Congress, which almost automatically caused a stir over the rules governing the use of Internet among Members of Congress.
Existing rules governing communications prohibit House members from using social networks, and photo and video-sharing sites like Flickr, YouTube, Facebook., which mean many of its members, including speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), are in violation of the rules.
John Culberson has earned a reputation of a pioneer among House members, whose average age skews towards 60. He was the first congressman to use Twitter and conduct live webcasts from the White House and “town hall” meetings via QIK and Ustream. I very much hope that his fellow congressmen are looking at his actions with envy.
We have seen government agencies making breakthroughs in the way they communicate with their constituents and the general public. While in many cases these agencies are reluctant and slow to change, if Congress adopts a realistic social media policy, there will be few excuses left for the rest of us.
More importantly, imagine the possibilities and potential benefits social media can bring to our elected officials in communicating back to us. Follow John Culberson on Twitter at twitter.com/johnculberson and join the cause at LetOurCongressTweet.org.