Let's be honest: it wasn't really a fair fight.
Anyone who follows #mapoli knows that the dean of the Massachusetts political twitterati is the Phoenix's own David S. Bernstein -- the man responsible for such runaway hits as #mapoliwithanimals (now a popular Tumblr, as well), #ScottoSawIt (after Scott Brown was fooled by fake Bin Laden death photos), #HowCambridgeShouldPickAMayor, #FakeMATown, #ReplaceItWithMitt, and #FakeMAPoliExitPolls.
And now we know, thanks to a review of the numbers by the Harvard Square social-media analysis firm SocialSphere, what we already suspected. Earlier this month the company released its Top 25 Massachusetts political influencers on Twitter; today it expanded that list to reveal the top 50.
After running the numbers "using a proprietary algorithm that emphasizes engagement, reach, bias, influence, and frequency," SocialSphere says it found that:
"A young State Senator from Western
Massachusetts, @BenjaminDowning (#24), was slowly and steadily creating a
loyal group of followers statewide before many people have even heard
his name
Four of the most influential voices on the right (@Norsu2 (#3),
@jslconsulting (#5), @rumpfshaker (#10), and @AustinHess (#11)) do not
have an AM talk show, column or political office, but instead have 140
characters and a lot of passion; and
@dbernstein (#6) from the Boston Phoenix is
stirring up more chatter and having a greater impact online than his
counterparts from the Boston Globe and Boston Herald."
For context, that lands Bernstein well ahead of his arch-nemesis Eric Fehrnstrom (who has long blocked Bernstein on Twitter. It lands him ahead of his Twitter pal, the soon-to-be-former Senator John Kerry, who once used the world's favorite microblogging service to discuss with Bernstein the possibility of pardoning George Clooney. Only a handful of players -- among them @MayorTomMenino, @MassGovernor Deval Patrick, and incoming Senator @ElizabethForMA -- are ahead of him.
It makes Bernstein the highest-rated journalist on the list, ahead of the Globe's Glen Johnson (#9) and Universal Hub's Adam Gaffin.
Today's extention of the list provided a few more surprises: we were shocked to find that the Phoenix's Chris @Fara1 is one step ahead of Joyce Linehan (@Ashmont), the legendary Boston publicist who persuaded Elizabeth Warren to run for Senate.
And somehow yours truly ended up sneaking onto the list at #49 -- which puts me ahead of former Senator Scott Brown, who failed to make the list at all.
Bqhatevwr.
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