The House Of Representatives GOP New Media Challenge!

In an attempt to get in on all that social networking has to offer, House Republicans are staging their first Congressional New Media Challenge, a competition modeled after NCAA March Madness in which representatives vie for the largest number of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube followers. Round one, on Twitter, begins today. Time to fire up the Congressional Blackberries!

The competition is in anticipation of the fall midterm elections, forcing representatives to become more active online and engage more directly with constituents. The brainchild of Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), vice chair of the group, the idea is to get representatives preemptively campaigning by making an effort to engage with new media, and while they’re at it get voters excited about their representatives through interacting online. Unfortunately, not all House Republicans are participating– noticeably absent is web-friendly Texas Congressman Ron Paul– but here’s the list of competitors on Twitter, and our top five picks to take the title (and an as-yet-determined prize):

Twitter New Media challenge

New Media Challenge