So I’ve finally succumbed to the Twitter craze!
Maybe not for the reason you may think. I actually have had a Twitter account for a couple years and was specifically using it only for family as a quick way to keep in touch. But with cell phones, e-mail, Facebook and old stodgy landline telephones, it hardly seemed like it was worth the effort! At least that’s the message I was getting from the silence of my family members’ “tweets.”
Twitter is a service that allows a sender to send a message of up to 140 characters to a list of folks. It arrives as an e-mail on your computer or a text message on your cell phone.
As many of you know, one of my goals every year as mayor is to find ways to communicate with Edmonds residents. Over the past ten years, I’ve held town hall meetings and neighborhood meetings, written columns such as this in the local papers, and tried to be accessible to all of you. Yet, inevitably, it’s difficult to reach everyone. The answer for communicating with citizens doesn’t lay with just one form of communication; it involves many forms.
I’ve also been looking for ways to have more immediate connection with city employees other than individual e-mail or text messages. The last snowstorm was a great example of having a need to communicate in a blanket fashion, not just with employees but with citizens as well.
Or maybe I can update you on the whereabouts of our latest young bear cub visitor. You may remember a couple years ago a young male bear led us on a wild chase through Edmonds, eventually ending in his capture and release back in the wild. This year we are having a repeat visitor. The bears must have “tweeted” each other about how nice Edmonds is. We are fairly certain the bear that was spotted in Magnolia, Ballard and Shoreline in recent weeks passed through Edmonds on his journey. He was spotted on Main Street on a Saturday night between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Then he cruised through Talbot Road, checking out garbage cans along the way before showing up at Meadowdale Beach Park in a stream on Sunday morning. Last I heard he went through Mukilteo and was visiting Everett.
So if you would like to follow me on Twitter, you’ll need to set up an account. It’s free and easy (a text message charge may apply depending on your cell phone service). Go to Twitter.com and follow the directions. You can search for me at “edmondsmayor” and then click “follow.” From then on you’ll get all my updates. As I mentioned, you can receive updates on your phone or through e-mail or both. I have found it best at a minimum to have messages sent to your cell phone for quicker delivery.
Happy “tweeting”!
Gary Haakenson is mayor of Edmonds.
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