Ashton Kutcher has one, and so does Britney Spears. Jimmy Fallon, Coldplay, The New York Times and U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, tweet too.

Among celebrities and journalists, Burgess is one of many Texas lawmakers who use the social networking Web site Twitter to connect with constituents.

"I think my constituents in North Texas as well as any Americans who are interested in what Congress is doing will appreciate my updates," Burgess said in an e-mail. "I want to do all I can to keep people informed about what is going on in Washington, and I hope my updates offer a peek behind the curtain."

Twitter is a "a real-time short messaging service" that allows people on various networks to connect through text messages, Web updates or instant messages up to 140 characters in length, and allows "followers" to respond to the user's status update, according to the Web site.

Burgess "tweets" to keep his constituents informed, and to ensure they receive good representation in Congress, said Lauren Bean, Burgess' communications director. Twitter also allows constituents to have a possible effect on public policy by providing a direct way to contact the congressman "so we can do our best to represent them," she said.

"I often receive responses to my updates, so I also think Twitter offers a unique opportunity for my constituents to contact me," Burgess said. "My constituents are my best source of information, and Twitter is just one more way for us to communicate."

Burgess has used Twitter since August 2008 and averages about six "tweets" a day, Bean said. The congressman does all of his updates himself, usually from his BlackBerry, Bean said. Occasionally, he will have a staff member update his status when he is unable to do it, she added. Burgess currently has 1,481 "followers," Bean said.

While some politicians have already started using Twitter, the 2012 presidential election will determine how influential Twitter is among public officials and constituents, Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha of the political science faculty said. Texas may see some use of it with the upcoming gubernatorial race, but the technology will be more highly scrutinized at the national level with a presidential race, he said.

"It's so new. We just have to wait and see how it works out," Eshbaugh-Soha said.

Eshbaugh-Soha said he sees the benefits and disadvantages of public figures using Twitter.

Twitter could lead to the spread of rumors and innuendo, he said. It could help spread false news by providing people an outlet to spread inaccurate information, he said. However, Twitter has the potential to help democracy, he said, by reaching out to new voters, fundraising, messaging and providing people with a more interactive approach to politics. Twitter has the potential to be an informative tool and provide people easier access to members of Congress and other elected officials, Eshbaugh-Soha said.

"We see the good and bad of all technological advances," he said.


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