When Generation Facebook Runs for Office

I heard Joshua Blessinger announced for Lieutenant Governor. Who, you might ask is Joshua Blessinger?

He’s a former U.S. Marine with service in Iraq, a Security guard, and a student at BSU. He formerly worked in the Corrections industry.

He’s pro-life, a fan of idaho Public Television, and ice cold beer. How do I know all this about Mr. Blessinger? His Facebook profile told me so (though the Iraq war service I picked up from his MySpace profile.)

Blessinger is about a year and a half older than me, but hardly the first person from my generation to run for office. Blessinger is the first one I know of with a Facebook profile that provides so much of a feel for who he is from the get go.

There’s nothing I would consider “embarassing” on Blessinger’s profile, but I’ve never actually gotten so much insight into a candidate I’ve never heard of before so easily. Facebook could be a great tool for journalists. I do wonder how long it will be before someone has a “Facebookgate” occur when they leave really embarassing information up on their Facebook page that derails their candidacy.

For Mr. Blessinger, I think it’s much more of a plus. “I’m not an ordinary politician. Don’t believe me? Check out my profile on Facebook!”