Gavin Newsom Raising Money on Twitter
Governor hopeful seeking cash from online followers
By OWEN THOMAS
Updated 12:31 AM PST, Sun, Jul 5, 2009
Forget all about his days as a boozing sexaholic. Now that Gavin Newsom is running for governor of California, the mayor of San Francisco wants people to think of him as a Twitterer, not a twit.
And now he's cashing in on his Twitter fame with a "tweetraiser."
Newsom announced his candidacy on Twitter, and has wooed the Internet startup's founders. He now has more than 600,000 followers on the service who subscribe to his 140-character tweets. He's asking them to donate between $10 and $25,900 to his campaign fund.
Chelsea Handler, the host of E's "Chelsea Lately," called on her Twitter fans to donate to Newsom's campaign, with one caveat: "I refuse to use the word 'tweetraiser.'"
Some people on Twitter are crediting Newsom with coming up with the word. In fact, activist Nathan Winters previously used the word for his Earth Day effort to promote tree-planting.
Not that it matters: Politicians don't actually have to be innovative. They just have to look the part.
And looking the part is where the youthful Newsom, who loves to hobnob with the founders of Google and other young tech entrepreneurs, really shines.
First Published: Jun 24, 2009 3:25 PM PST
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