Can You Digg It?

The Austin American Statesman announced its Top 25 Texas Social Media Award finalists today. Two prominent Texas conservatives were on the list:

• The indomitable Michael Williams, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission
• David Guenthner, Director of Media and Government Relations for the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)

Commissioner Michael Williams was ahead of his time with social media, having a blog at least as early as 2005. His combination of conservative vision, articulate advocacy, and social media engagement will make him a force to be reckoned with in the US Senate. Remarkably, Comm. Williams was the only elected officeholder to make the top 25.

A relatively recent social networker, having gotten a Twitter account less than 5 months ago, Mr. Guenthner has quickly established himself and TPPF as a presence in the growing social media world. He is very proactive in engaging policymakers, journalists, bloggers, and activists using social media and is staking a conservative claim to the new media territory of social networking. His work in this area will no doubt point the way for other, like-minded activists to move into the social media sphere and advocate for limited government, individual freedom, free market policies, and traditional values.

The Statesman will announce the overall winner of the Texas Social Media Award on March 15. Twittering, Facebooking, Digg-ing, del.icio.us-ing and blogging for your favorite recipient couldn’t hurt their chances for this prestigious award.