Rudy Marconi is on Facebook, and it’s working for him. He has 220 friends so far.

"The Web not only lets us reach out to people—it lets them reach out to us,” the first selectman said. “We're listening as well as talking, and that ongoing conversation with voters and supporters is critical." 

Facebook, YouTube, and even Twitter are all part of the electronic arsenal that the Ridgefield politico and potential gubernatorial candidate uses in his continuing attempts to connect with present and, he hopes, future constituents.

"Many people don't realize that the Web is not just for kids,” Marconi said. “Our online supporters include seniors as well as teenagers, and we try to reflect that in everything we do on the Web."

Marconi had 34 followers on Twitter and 18 entries on the site, called tweets, by Tuesday evening. His blog had eight posts, along with photos and links to press coverage. He can also be found on YouTube, where a video introducing his candidacy and clips covering his campaign speeches are available.

According to Dave Goldenberg, communications director for Marconi's exploratory committee, the committee has had a Web site and social networking sites up and running since the beginning of October, when Marconi threw his hat into the ring as a potential gubernatorial candidate. Facebook is particularly useful in that it shows you how many people are “friends,” Goldenberg pointed out.

The social networking prototype was the campaign waged by President Barack Obama, which included social networking and direct appeals through e-mail, Goldenberg said. After Obama's victory, Marconi's team knows that Conneticut's next governor may be the person with the most (Facebook) friends.

“He built up millions of supporters that way,” Goldenberg said of Obama. “He brought a new kind of intimacy to this type of communication—everyone is trying to emulate that.”

Gov. M. Jodi Rell is one of those people. She started a Facebook page in March. She also has a Twitter account, and 1,593 people currently follow her tweets.

In an article on the Web site CT News Junkie, Adam Jeamel, the governor’s director of public affairs, said that when Rell first took office in 2004, she put an emphasis on constituent communication, which back then meant sending out e-mails.  In 2009, more and more people are turning to sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch.  Rell sends text messages too, Jeamel said. But she doesn’t actually type out the tweets and the Facebook posts—she tells her staff what to say, Jeamel said in the article.

Likewise, Goldenberg often does the actual posting for Marconi.

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield (D-New Haven), is also active on Twitter.

"You don't hear why a lawmaker might make a decision, all you know is that they do make a decision. Government works better when people understand the underlying thinking," Holder-Winfield said in a New Haven Advocate story. "If I can get more of my colleagues doing this, we would have more transparency in government," he said.

For Marconi's exploratory efforts, Goldenberg said that the overt goal isn't always serious efforts at tranparency—Twitter, Facebook and blogs have different uses, he said.

“Sometimes you can be serious, sometimes you can lighten up and have some fun,” Goldenberg said. “The important thing for us is to keep it up. We’re in the business of building relationships.”