A few weeks ago, Patrick Ruffini asked his Twitter followers to suggest qualities they think the "ideal 'internet candidate'" would possess. We may never see the perfect online candidate, but today's story about Newark Mayor Cory Booker personally showing up at a constituent's driveway to shovel snow in response to a tweet, can help make the argument that Booker is the closest thing to it.
According to CNN:
The daughter of a 65-year-old Newark man...directly ask[ed] Mayor Cory Booker to help shovel her dad's driveway on New Years Eve.
Ravie Rave, otherwise known as @BigSixxRaven on Twitter, was at work and could not help her father shovel, so she sent a tweet to the mayor asking for assistance.
Five minutes later Booker messaged her back.
"I will do it myself where does he live?”
With over 1 million followers, Booker is one of the most active and followed politicians on Twitter, the popular social networking micro blog.
“Please @BigSixxRaven don’t worry bout ur dad,” Booker tweeted. “Just talked 2 him & I’ll get 2 his Driveway by noon. I’ve got salt, shovels & great volunteers.”
Twenty minutes after reading the first tweet, Booker knocked on the father’s door with a shovel in hand. He even had volunteers pitch in to help after seeing the conversation on Twitter.
This phenomenal use of Twitter by Booker isn't his first sensational use of social networking. A few months ago, Mayor Booker took to YouTube to officially put NBC's Tonight Show host, Conan O'Brien on Newark's "No Fly List" after O'Brien poked fun at the City of Newark. Booker's hysterical video response sparked a brilliant back-and-forth banter between Booker and O'Brien, bringing hilarious comedic attention to the rising Dem politico in the Garden State. Here are Booker's three YouTube responses to O'Brien for your viewing pleasure:
Will we ever see the perfect internet candidate? Maybe, maybe not. But from where I sit, it's going to be difficult to find any politician using the internet more effectively than Mayor Booker.
