This word cloud represents the most frequently used words from more than 5,000 submissions on Facebook and Twitter to our #CongressInOneWord challenge.
Congress defined: 'Useless,' 'worthless,' a 'joke'
Jeremy Diamond and Eric Weisbrod
(CNN) - It can be tough to agree on a single word to describe something that affects every single American.
But when it comes to Congress, the task suddenly doesn't seem so insurmountable.
Filed under: Congress • Politics • Polls • Social Media
Palin to headline RightOnline conference in Las Vegas
CNN Political Reporter Shannon Travis
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) – What happens in Vegas will not stay there this weekend as legions of Internet-savvy conservatives, including Sarah Palin, plot and share strategies for better competing with liberals in the digital sphere.
The former Alaska governor is just one of many to attend the fifth annual RightOnline conference in Las Vegas. The gathering will feature brand-name conservative figures rallying the masses and Internet activists hoping to maximize their political efforts on social media like Twitter and Facebook. Some attendees will learn how to use Twitter and Facebook for the first time.
Filed under: 2012 • Nevada • RightOnline • Sarah Palin • Social Media
First lady hops on Pinterest
(CNN)– Her husband joined Pinterest in March, and his rival's wife started 'pinning' in February. Now first lady Michelle Obama is diving into the latest social network with new, personal posts reflecting on life in the White House.
At mid-morning Wednesday, Michelle Obama's page had three categories: Around the White House, Great Memories, and Father's Day.
Filed under: Michelle Obama • Social Media
Ann Romney embraces Pinterest
CNN's Alex Zuckerman
Washington (CNN) - Ann Romney has pinned herself a new role in her husband's presidential campaign.
The wife of presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently began using the social media site Pinterest. The official Mitt Romney Twitter feed drew attention to the site Tuesday by posting, "Ann's way ahead of me on this one – check out her Pinterest page here pinterest.com/annromney/."
CNN LIVE: Tune in Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET for the last presidential debate before Super Tuesday, the CNN/Arizona Republican Party Debate hosted by John King. Follow it on Twitter at #CNNDebate and on Facebook at CNN Politics. For real-time coverage of the Arizona and Michigan primaries, go to CNNPolitics.com or to the CNN apps or CNN mobile web site.
Filed under: 2012 • Ann Romney • Mitt Romney • Social Media • Social Networking
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Obama and social media
CNN's Eric Weisbrod
(CNN) - Whether President Barack Obama's first ever Twitter town hall is considered a #success or #fail, it's surely another example of the White House's embrace of social media and technology.
Here's a look back at some of the key uses of social media since Obama was elected:
Filed under: President Obama • Social Media • Twitter
Grassley 'tweets' for you
CNN's Frances Sanchez
Washington (CNN)-Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has a case of the "Twitter" but don't worry its curable-at least that's what he's saying in his new TV ad.
In his new ad Grassley wants you to know he works for you and that he'll 'tweet' for you.
The ad features two older women talking about Grassley's Twitter account as if it were a diagnosis and not a trendy social media profile.
One lady even asks if his Twitter can be "cured."
Filed under: 2010 • Social Media • Social Networking
Social media celebs launch campaign to encourage youth voting
CNN Audience Interaction Producer Eric Kuhn
Thirty of the largest youth groups in America have joined together to create the Vote Again 2010 campaign.
(CNN) - Thirty of the largest youth groups in America have joined together to create the Vote Again 2010 campaign, a non-partisan coalition encouraging youth voter turnout for the midterm elections.
The organizations include Rock the Vote, League of Young Voters, Head Count, Campus Progress, Voto Latino and the Energy Action Coalition. To encourage 18 to 30 year olds to vote, the organization brought in three of the most influential stars in social media to create a competition around creating the best YouTube video about getting involved in the political process.
Brittani Taylor , one of the 50 most subscribed people on YouTube, Tay Zonday, whose YouTube hit "chocolate rain" is one of the top watched videos with over 53 million views, and Jason Pollock, rated one of the most influential people on Twitter, created a YouTube video to in an effort to make voting go viral.
Filed under: 2010 • Social Media
Study: McCain is a social media 'genius'
CNN's Jeff Simon
McCain's 'genius' level digital IQ is is derived from a combination of metrics culled from his activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, political blogs and his own congressional website.
(CNN) – At nearly 74 years old, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, might not be the first person to come to mind when you're asked to name a social media "genius." But according to a new joint study, he is just that–the U.S. senator most adept at using social media.
New York University professor Scott Galloway and George Washington University School of Business dean Doug Guthrie ranked all 100 U.S. senators based on what they call the lawmakers' "digital IQ." The score is derived from a combination of metrics culled from each senator's activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, political blogs and their own congressional website.
Republican Sens. Jim DeMint and Scott Brown took a close second and third behind McCain, with Sen. Al Franken–the Senate's most social media-savvy Democrat–coming in at number four.
Filed under: John McCcain • Popular Posts • Senate • Social Media • Social Networking
Why your senator can't Skype
CNNMoney.com Staff Reporter Julianne Pepitone
Lawmakers are prohibited from using Skype to chat from their offices.
New York (CNNMoney.com) - Internet video-chatting service Skype helps connect people across the globe - but your representatives in Congress are banned from using it.
House Democrats and Republicans have been tussling over whether to overhaul technology rules that prohibit lawmakers from using Skype to chat from their offices with the people they govern.
Their obstacle: A 2006 ban on running peer-to-peer applications behind House and Senate firewalls. Such programs allow computers to share files (remember Napster?), which could pose a security risk.
Skype is a peer-to-peer (P2P) program, but its software is a different animal from the popular-with-pirates media swapping applications that gave the P2P field a reputation as the Internet's Wild West. While Skype users can send files directly to others, the company says it's impossible to share documents accidentally - as users could with file-sharing programs like LimeWire.
Filed under: Congress • House of Representatives • Senate • Social Media • Social Networking
Gillibrand attends the BlogHer conference, stresses organization
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand meeting with bloggers at the BlogHer conference.
New York (CNN) – Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand met with a group of 25 of the web's top female political bloggers Friday evening as part of the BlogHer Conference, a two-day gathering of 2,400 female bloggers.
The freshman New York Democrat, one of Washington's most web-savvy politicians, used the appearance to press other women to run for office, a rallying cry heard throughout the conference.
"We need you," Gillibrand told the bloggers. "You don't have to be afraid [of politics] just because it is a blood sport."
A frequent blog contributor herself, Gillibrand discussed her experience in the Senate, and specifically the fight against the Stupak amendment – a crucial sticking point for liberal Democrats that turned the debate over health care reform legislation on its head. Gillibrand expressed surprise at the lack of grassroots coordination from women to protest the amendment and pointed to the debate as one where women could have been better organized, and more effective.
Filed under: Kirsten Gillibrand • Social Media