California Forward has long been a believer in the power technology and the internet afford us to connect with one another. This is why we have made having a digital footprint that is accessible to all Californians through as many avenues as possible one of our top priorities.
We initially began with one Facebook page that covered the entire state of California with its content and reach. We were able to organically grow the fanbase there to around 7,500.
Last summer we launched seven regional pages: San Diego, Inland Empire, Orange County, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. The idea was to better address region-specific issues and concerns. We also wanted to create an online watercooler for those in each region to converse about their home areas with a depth not possible on our statewide page.
And no organization could claim relevance in California without providing a similar forum for the many Spanish language speakers we have in our state, which is why we launched CAFwd’s Español page shortly after the regional ones.
You can visit “California Forward on Facebook” for samples of content and links to “like” or visit all nine pages.
Finally, we have a very active Twitter account at @MoveCAFwd that now boasts more than 2,800 followers. Here are some samples:
RT @revivingca: Rightsizing Gov: Realignment & Regionalism, 3.8, w/Constant, Connelly, Cortese, Gardner, Johnson & Mitchell #cabudget…
— California Forward (@MoveCAFWD) February 22, 2012
Compelling analysis, excellent visualizations RT @cacsdotorg: Cost of pensions – crowding out other spending bit.ly/xsmV8y
— California Forward (@MoveCAFWD) February 22, 2012
It’s not quite on par with Kim Kardashian’s 13 million followers, but with a combined digital reach that exceeds 40,000 people between Facebook and Twitter, we believe we have attracted (and continue to attract) the slice of California’s politically active population that is truly interested in informed and intelligent yet non-partisan and non-insider viewpoints on reforming our great state.
As a reference point, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that we have more Facebook fans than the California Republican and Democratic parties combined. Not too shabby.
We look forward to continuing the dilaogue with each and every one of you, no matter your social medium of choice.
