Follow Friday: @RepGosar

by Alicia M. Cohn - 03/30/12 10:00 AM ET

{mosads}The Hill: Do you write your own tweets?

A: I write most of the personal tweets. My staff typically live-tweets committee meetings and events. We both pick interesting news stories to tweet about. When they tweet personal quips, they use the “(Staff)” so readers know it’s not me.

Q: When did you join Twitter?

A: My staff had a Twitter account for my official office and campaign before I got involved. My new [communication director] started in September and got me hooked on being a part of the discussion on Twitter and Facebook.

Q: What do you see as the most significant purpose of Twitter for you?

A: I like the immediate feedback from constituents on what I’m doing in D.C. and Arizona. The SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act] feedback was very helpful. I’m told I’m seen as stuffy to those who don’t know me well, so I’m hoping by using Twitter, people see that I have a lot of fun with what I do and enjoy it a lot.

Q: Example of a “best” Twitter moment?

A: I recently got a tweet from a young woman whose cousin has a heart condition and needed assistance getting her claim expedited for a surgery she needed. I responded asking for contact information; it was DM’d [direct-messaged] to me, and my office reached out immediately. She later tweeted: “@RepGosar you’re my hero and I blogged about it!”

Q: Example of a “worst” Twitter moment?

A: I was in Arizona for the SOTU [State of the Union address] and live-tweeted my reactions to the speech, firing off tweets to a staffer who types a [lot] faster than I do. There were a few times I’d look over to find her looking at me with a parental “No, we’re not tweeting that” look. I have had to learn that sarcasm doesn’t always translate well in 140 characters.

Follow Gosar @RepGosar, where he has 3,179 followers.

Previous “Follow Friday” Twitter profiles have included Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Mike Honda (Calif.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Rush Holt (N.J.) and Jared Polis (Colo.) and Republican Reps. Bob Latta (Ohio), Glenn Thompson (Pa.), John Shimkus (Ill.), David Schweikert (Ariz.), Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.) and Billy Long (Mo.), as well as the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.