Friday, December 10, 2010
Jean Quan Apologizes for the Twitter Fiasco
Breaking News / Media / Politics Ellen Cushing — Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 12:02 PM
It’s been a long, strange trip, but Oakland’s Mayor-elect Jean Quan has apparently decided to dial back her controversial Twitter activity.
During the mayoral election, Quan used Twitter primarily as an occasional organizing apparatus, and she tweeted only a couple times a week. Then, after Quan’s win, the account changed its tactics and tone dramatically, spewing out some 544 tweets — many of which were unrelated to Oakland — in the fifteen days between November 10 and 25. It was enough to earn her the ire of a few followers and make some ask if she’d already begun alienating constituents before even being sworn in — not to mention providing considerable fuel for parody account @FakeJeanQuan. Last week, we wrote about the flap, and yet more people chimed in in the comments and on Twitter expressing their frustration.
And then: silence. Between last Saturday and this morning, there was nothing. For an account that had been previously tweeting about 36 times a day, it was odd, to say the least. Now, the mayor-elect has issued an apology, tweeted about an hour ago on her feed:
“Our apologies for the past 'over-tweeting.' We’re experimenting with social media to serve Oakland. Sometimes we miss. We’ll get this right!”
Journalism in the public interest, y’all.
Full disclosure: This reporter has now re-followed Quan on Twitter. #obama #blockxblock
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
I'll be honest, neweastoakland that was great, but, I coulda used a little more capslock. So, let's try it again, and dude, really explore the commenting space this time. I mean really, explore the space. I like what I'm reading...
like
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Over 1,000 Followers in 2 weeks is NOT "twitterfail" YOUR WHOLE LIFE is #TWITTER FAIL
www.FCKYEAHOAK.tumblr.com
PS. GET A LIFE / Gain some PASSION / Aid the WORLD not hinder its progression / Maybe the Holiday Season will bring more Love into your life cuz You ARE are ANNOYING as FCK! Seriously.
Don't worry. I have many better things to mock than her twitterfail.
Come to me, Oakland! I defy you! Come and kneel before QUAN! QUAN!
I actually think the best way to do this is to have two Twitter accounts, one that is your official sounding board (@NAME), the other that is the one you use to reply to twitter comments, and be more conversational (@NAMEtweets). Then people who really want to know everything you have to say can follow the second account if they want, and most people will follow the main account. Works very well. Paula Wirth, social media gal.
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