I’ve been a Conan fan for at least a decade now. I don’t really get the time to watch his show live these days, but occasionally I’ll catch up online.
If you’re out of the loop, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, whose passionate defense of Newark City (after Conan playfully mocked that Booker’s new health care plan is “a bus ticket out of town”) has garnered national attention and over 100,000 YouTube hits since their playful feud began on September 23.
In response to Conan’s mockery, Booker fought back with a hilarious response on YouTube in which he “banned” Conan from Newark Liberty International Airport.
The YouTube duel escalated to Booker banning Conan from all of New Jersey, and Conan banning Booker from California.
Even Hillary Clinton, our nation’s top diplomat, got in the action – quelling the feud and advising both to get back to their respective purposes – for Conan, this meant dancing around the stage making fun of her “business pants”.
Now, Booker is slotted as a guest on The Tonight Show this Friday – all because he leveraged the power of social media to defend his city – even if it was in play. The Millennial Generation loves this stuff.
What’s really important here is the power of social media. Using his 826,000 followers on Twitter, Mayor Booker gets it. You don’t need to pay millions of dollars anymore for national attention. You don’t need million dollar production crews to make a video – look at the success Paranormal Activities is having in the box-office with limited advertising costs. Social media is changing the game.
Excerpt from MSN article:
“This kind of exposure is extremely rare for someone who’s not a senator, governor or presidential candidate,” said Joe Trippi, a political consultant who managed Democrat Howard Dean’s Internet-driven presidential campaign in 2004. “This shows how savvy Cory Booker is about new media and how it can be used to leverage mainstream and old media.”
This transition to viral advertising lends more power to the innovative and creative. For the sake of Newark, who has long been the butt of many New York jokes, it’s good to see a fresh face with a grasp on the limitless potential of social media.
Watch the clip and enjoy!
