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{mosads}Through the New Media Working Group, Honda has shared these skills with other Democratic members. In March he held a Twitter town hall where four or five representatives at a time came in and out of the event to discuss issues with their constituents via Twitter.

“It was a nice way to introduce more of the members to this new media,” Honda said.

There is always work to do in getting more Democrats to use Twitter. The New York Times recently profiled House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) rapid response Twitter staff and Republican efforts to use Twitter to refute Democratic arguments.

Honda pointed to the Mouse awards in response. “The announcements for the Golden Mouse awards came out, and Cantor’s name was there and he was mentioned as one of the recipients; but then there were quite a few Democrats that were named too,” Honda said. “The Gold Mice awards are predominantly done by Democrats.”

There were 12 Democratic and two Republican Gold Mouse winners this year. Cantor won a bronze.

Honda said that when he sees something worth making addressing on Twitter, he is aware of the limitations of the tool, and often links to Facebook or his website to continue discussions.

Honda said, “There are not enough characters in Twitter to conduct an argument, but certainly we can create direction toward dialogues.”