Behind the Scenes: Jason Pollock for #Obamatweeter Video

It all began about two weeks ago when President Obama announced on his website that he was looking for a new Social Networks Manager. In other words, a job opened up for someone to tweet for the President of the United States. Like many people, I learned about it in this article: Mashable: President Obama Wants YOU… to Twitter for Him.

What happened next truly warms my heart and is yet another example of how our Twitter family is such a gift to us all. When this news got out about President Obama, someone somewhere in the Twitterverse (I don’t know who) suggested in a tweet that @Jason_Pollock would be the perfect person for the job. If you follow Jason, you know this is true.

@Iconic88 and @Paul_Steele immediately began brainstorming and decided to put together a video from people all over the world to show our collective support for Jason and why we think he would be perfect for this job. The best part? Everyone did this without Jason knowing it, it would be the ultimate surprise.

With @Iconic88’s connection, @Paul_Steele’s mad editing skills and @cindyvriend who assisted, they joined forces and put together this very special video. Of course, none of this would have been possible without all the wonderful people that took time out of their busy schedule to show their support. That list of Twitter friends is below.

So what did Jason think when he finally saw it? I asked him that question, and this was his response:

“I was so touched and honored by this amazing clip, it was such a surprise! The collective power of the web is always so shocking to me. I’m very lucky to have created such a amazing network of people online. The web is connecting us in MANY new and exciting ways!” – Jason Pollock

The outpour of support from our Twitter community surrounding Jason and this video has been tremendous. @Iconic88 and @Paul_Steele are working on a second video to accommodate those people that want a chance to be included. If you would like to be a part of the magic, you can contact either one of them on Twitter.

When I asked @Iconic88 and @Paul_Steele what motivated them to do this, their answers were quite touching:

@Paul_Steele said, “I have followed Jason since the beginning of my time on Twitter. No matter what his celebrity or follower count status is, he is the man in a great position that understands his followers, talks, engages, inspires, listens, sees and with all that – (you can see from his videos) he knows what people want from Twitter and how it’s used. An even bigger bonus is that he is always positive.”

@Iconic88 said, “If you judge a person by what they tweet, then Jason, I feel, is the right person to be #Obamatweeter. Like President Obama, Jason Pollock has grassroots community interests. You can see that in the many causes he supports and shares with the Twitterverse. More pertinent to Jason is his movie he directed called “The Youngest Candidate” produced by David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, in partnership with Oscar winner Lawrence Bender (producer of ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, etc..).

From this movie alone, you can see Jason is passionate about mobilizing people’s interest in politics and society’s role in having a ‘voice’. He’s an advocate for positive change. Combine this background in film and community service, Jason Pollock is one of the most influential non-Hollywood grassroots tweeters in the world and one of the most retweeted of all time. Only a few months ago, Jason was in the top 15 on the web. This is no easy feat as it requires time, commitment, and a robust understanding of the nuances and Twitter protocols that help one become a success on Twitter. You won’t know these keys to Twitter success unless you have the required experience and the Twitterverse loves you as a person… not a brand.

Put all this in combination, I believe Jason Pollock to be the perfect candidate for #ObamaTweeter. He’s highly responsible and understands how to connect with people using these social media tools. He also understands the social tone necessary to be the signal AND the frequency. Jason is a person any World Leader would need to be able to connect with their people.”

If I may speak for so many of us on Twitter, we would like to thank these wonderful people for their support in this campaign. Thank you for making a difference. You are so wonderful and your voice is being heard.

@2morrowknight
@AskAaronLee
@alison99
@amfan_jenny
@bellavalentine2
@clementyeung
@donnalex
@FijiCollin
@Flipbooks
@Hadel
@hawaiirealty
@jimhunt
@joycecherrier
@ladypfeiffer
@lais_lika
@LarisaBelliveau
@laurawalker86
@lorimoreno
@ModelSupplies
@momsofamerica
@rMiLaNa
@ShellyKramer
@soulkirk
@Sung_H_Lee
@SusanLorelei
@tech_blend
@teeco71

Thank you to @mattbologna for the very nice Jason Pollock pictures. You can check out his Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbologna/3254952228

Thank you to http://www.flickr.com/photos/comicbase/2531094926 for the great Barack Obama @Twitter image.