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Giuliani's Online Social Networks

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from: Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008, at 12:20 PM ET

On Jan. 22, the New York Times, in a front-page profile, described presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani as a "bully," "ruthless," and "vengeful." These qualities do not seem to bother his 17,000 Facebook fans (below), who have posted more than 1,000 comments on Giuliani's "wall" so far. Rudy suffered some embarrassment this past summer when, writing in Slate, Lucy Morrow Caldwell reported that the Facebook profile for Giuliani's 17-year-old daughter, Caroline, listed her supporting Barack Obama. (On being contacted about it by Slate, Caroline immediately severed the public affiliation.) Outside of family, though, Rudy seems to be doing quite well on Facebook, and also on My Space ("Zodiac Sign: Gemini"), where the former New York City mayor's page is maintained for thousands of "friends" by a campaign staff blogger named Dan Meyers (Page 2).

On other social-networking sites, Giuliani hasn't fared nearly so well. As of this writing, Rudy's total number of friends on the election page for the popular Digg stands at a mere 711 (Page 3). At LinkedIn, he's made only 394 "connections" (Page 4). At Gather, he's made only 35. Conceivably, Giuliani lacks much in common with other Gather members; among his "affiliations," he lists the KBE Order of the British Empire.

Rudy's age may account for his poor showing on these youth-oriented networking sites. But his profile at Eons, a site targeted at a "new generation of spirited boomers" (Page 6), garnered only 27 friends, despite the candidate's formidable "Lifepath." Maybe it's time Hizzoner acquired a terrorist-fighting avatar on Second Life.

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hot document
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from: Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008, at 12:20 PM ET
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Bonnie Goldstein is a former special investigator to the U.S. Senate and investigative producer for ABC News.
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