ActBlue, the online contribution site used by many Democratic candidates and organizations, announced that you can now make contributions to your preferred candidate via Twitter. After setting up an ActBlue Express account, making contributions are easy. From its Twitter page:
To give using your Twitter account, tweet:
“donate $amount @candidate via @actblue“
Only one problem – and it is not addressed in the instructions: the candidate has to have a Twitter account. I fully expect we will see a)more candidates with Twitter accounts and b)more appeals for money via Tweets. It is the latter that I don’t relish.
With today’s filing deadline, my email has been inundated with requests for funds and my phone has been ringing off the hook. Truth be told, I like Twitter because it allows me to keep up with what’s going on without being overwhelmed by it all. So I’m not so sure this Twitter integration is a good thing.
One thing is certain: if the only Tweets I get from a candidate are requests for money, I’ll stop following them.
Oh – and if you are interested in contributing, you can find links to the candidates’ websites as well as their ActBlue pages on my 2009 Candidates page.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 