Twitter joins Facebook, Google with D.C. hire
New Washington representative, currently a C-SPAN producer, says he looks forward to "enhancing civic debate" by helping government agencies embrace Twitter.
Twitter has just hired its first employee in Washington, D.C.
The microblogging site confirmed today that Adam Sharp, currently an executive producer for digital services at C-SPAN and former Democratic Senate staffer to Mary Landrieu, will be the company's manager of government and political partnerships.
Sharp said--through Twitter, of course --that he'll start on November 29. He posted: "Look fwd to working w/learning from #gov20 community & others committed to enhancing civic debate by bringing govt, people closer together."
That job description is less traditional lobbyist and more governmental liaison, working with federal agencies and politicians to embrace Twitter as an evangelist, rather than pressing for legislation to be enacted or blocked.
Unlike Google, Facebook, MySpace, and other Web companies, Twitter has not been targeted by the privacy, copyright, or other online eruptions that roil Capitol Hill with surprising frequency. (Though Twitter has joined a pro-Net neutrality coalition.)
Because Twitter doesn't host photos or videos, it hasn't had to face the same copyright concerns that have bedeviled YouTube. And because its default setting for posts is public, the San Francisco-based company hasn't had to fend off the same level of official scrutiny as Facebook and MySpace have.
Last year, Facebook hired former journalist Andrew Noyes as a Washington-based spokesman, and Google has operated a combination policy and sales office in the District of Columbia for a few years.