How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter

Posted on | October 26, 2013 | 98 Comments

#ff Oct. 25, 2013, will be known to history as Everybody Follow Elliot Echols Day! @elliott_echols < FOLLOW! @kcresto @ali @TwitchyTeam

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) October 25, 2013

Ali Akbar called me Friday afternoon to tell me that the New York Times had mocked a young Republican operative:

Seven months after a report described the Republican Party’s image as “old and detached from pop culture,” it has hired Elliott Echols, 23, to serve as its first national youth director. . . .
Raffi Williams, the R.N.C. spokesman for youth media, said Mr. Echols was chosen because of his organizing and recruitment experience with College Republican groups. . . .
But hours after his announcement, the man who would be in charge of growing Republican support among the voting bloc most active on social media had fewer than 600 followers on Twitter. . . .

Ali decided to fix that problem. He went to work promoting Echols on Twitter, while also sending around e-mails urging others to join the crusade and demonstrate to the New York Times the effectiveness of conservative grassroots New Media activism on “Follow Friday.”

When @ali joins the fray *it's on* MT @ali: Weird: @nytimes bashes @GOP youth hire @elliott_echols, for not having enough Twitter followers?

— Jonathan Gormley (@JonathanGormley) October 25, 2013

NYT bashed @elliott_echols for not having 600 followers. I promise he'll have 1200 soon. @DLoesch @ChrisLoesch @debostic @LaurenC_Lux

— Ali A. Akbar (@ali) October 25, 2013

I followed @elliott_echols before the NYT's made it cool for Repubs to follow him. @LaurenC_Lux @ali 😉 #sohip

— Alyssa Farah (@Alyssafarah) October 25, 2013

Give a BIG #ff to @elliott_echols the new RNC youth director #tcot #gop

— Lauren Luxenburg (@LaurenC_Lux) October 25, 2013

BREAKING: Elliot Echols now has 1,000+ followers! @elliott_echols < FOLLOW NOW! #tcot @ali @nytimes @TwitchyTeam @kcresto @JonathanGormley

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) October 25, 2013

Please follow RNC’s new youth director —-> @elliott_echols

— Delay It Dee (@DeeInHouston) October 25, 2013

#ff @elliott_echols! MT @ali NYT bashes @GOP youth hire @elliott_echols for lack of Twitter followers? That can be fixed. @TwitchyTeam #tcot

— Shoshana Weissmann (@senatorshoshana) October 25, 2013

.@NYTimes bashes Ocare for not having enough enrollees. Wait, I mean NYT bashes @GOP @elliott_echols for not having enough Twitter followers

— GOP Fashionista (@GOPfashionista) October 25, 2013

1 hr 11 mins. That's how long it took for us to double @elliott_echols' followers. Why? Because @nytimes picked a fight with us. Thanks all!

— Ali A. Akbar (@ali) October 25, 2013

By 5 p.m. ET Friday, Elliot Echols had more than 1,500 Twitter followers. As of 9 a.m. ET today, Elliott had more than 2,500 followers.

.@assouthall While I was in GA, he did a lot of minority outreach and grew all the chapters. Yes, broke ground. @elliott_echols @GACRs

— Ali A. Akbar (@ali) October 25, 2013

Hottest guy on Twitter today? Yeah, @elliott_echols. Because fuck you, @nytimes.

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) October 25, 2013

Ashley Southall, the New York Times reporter who wrote that story?

Oh, she’s got 720 Twitter followers.

Thanks @assouthall! Bc of your article, I now have almost 2x as many followers as you. #CantStopWontStop #tcot

— Elliott Echols (@elliott_echols) October 25, 2013

@elliott_echols doubles his followers. Now at 1,414. Because @ali and @rsmccain got PO'ed at NY Times insult of ex-CR's twitter following.

— MSNBC Watch Goblin (@MSNBCWatch) October 25, 2013

NYT's @assouthall criticizes @GOP's @elliott_echols for "only having 600" followers. She has 719. He now has three times that.

— Alex Schriver (@AlexSchriver) October 25, 2013

The headline should be "@elliott_echols #WINNING" (now 2,500+ followers) https://t.co/CqYxwZyIEd | | @DylanByers @ali @Alyssafarah

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) October 26, 2013

As a digital strategist, Ali likes to tell about the time a friend introduced him to someone at a conservative conference.

“This is Ali, he’s . . . He does . . . Ali, what do you do?”

This. He does this. #WINNING!

Ali is also being sued — along with 20 other defendants, including Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck, Erick Erickson, and Simon & Schuster — by convicted bomber-turned-progressive activist Brett Kimberlin. Maybe the New York Times would be interested in that story, eh?

BomberSuesBloggers.com

Category: Blogging, New York Times

Comments

98 Responses to “How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter”

MakeitRIGHTWV
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:11 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
elliott_echols
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:16 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
joethefatman
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:17 pm

I wish people would quit using that truetwit crap though. You. and you know who you are.
rsmccain
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:18 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
RoscFoot
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:19 pm

RT @elliott_echols: Just a small glimpse of what conservatives can do. Thanks for the help! RT: @rsmccain How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter h…
eponine1949
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:22 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
martin_r_taylor
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:23 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
jslconsulting
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:26 pm

RT @elliott_echols: Just a small glimpse of what conservatives can do. Thanks for the help! RT: @rsmccain How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter h…
toddpoole
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:35 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
HuffmanJE
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:41 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
Evi L. Bloggerlady
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:42 pm

Thank you so much. As for that last comment by you: Not true! You are a great commentator and tweeter!
DaTechGuyblog
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:46 pm

And the winner of Twitter? @Elliott_Echols http://t.co/322ykjUwIp
joethefatman
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:49 pm

My comments are pedantic and trite for the most part and my tweeting consists of, in the main, tweeting links to other peoples work. Much like the guy leading the tour, “See what someone else has done folks!” Pretty good description of useless to me.
instapundit
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:51 pm

RT @DaTechGuyblog: And the winner of Twitter? @Elliott_Echols http://t.co/322ykjUwIp
southsalem
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:53 pm

RT @DaTechGuyblog: And the winner of Twitter? @Elliott_Echols http://t.co/322ykjUwIp
N0rleansLady
October 26th, 2013 @ 12:57 pm

RT @DaTechGuyblog: And the winner of Twitter? @Elliott_Echols http://t.co/322ykjUwIp
Bradoplata
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:03 pm

Just done, but I just saw this.
thatMrGguy
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:09 pm

How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/297N98wxeE
Mike G.
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:13 pm

Done. It took me a while, but I’ve got 1500 + followers.
ConserAnimal
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:13 pm

RT @WVGOP: .@GOP National #Youth Director @elliott_echols is #winning! #Mobilize @twitter @rsmccain http://t.co/yYp2ZPmI8E #GOP http://t.co…
MichaelBir
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:19 pm

RT @KevinMaddenDC: RT @elliott_echols: …Thanks for the help! RT: @rsmccain How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/h8JkTORodV”
Professor_Why
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:24 pm

How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/Pn6KRPQtGs || Sheesh, I need to get slammed by the NYT, I guess… 😉
larsoneric50
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:30 pm

How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/fjXSRxLVGr
asideofbacon
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:37 pm

#WINNING “@rsmccain: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/bJBRt06xxk | | @LizMair @assouthall @JonathanGormley”
richard mcenroe
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:41 pm

Keep getting a “problems following this Twitter” message ehen I try to follow Elliot. Is Twitter censoring conservative voices?
rsmccain
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:46 pm

RT @asideofbacon: #WINNING “@rsmccain: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/bJBRt06xxk | | @LizMair @assouthall @JonathanGormley”
Groty1
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:51 pm

OT but kinda sorta related. I watched Cathy McMorris Rogers interviewed on CSPAN while having coffee his morning. She mentioned how as part of GOP House leadership she is pushing the GOP to embrace new media as part of its overall communication strategy. Then she uttered a couple of stats that floored me. I had no idea the average age of a GOP member in the House today is 5 years younger than the average Democrat. And that the House GOP leadership team is 16 years younger than the Democrat leadership team.
I guess I had no idea because the media persists in perpetuating the idea that the GOP is the party of old white men.
joethefatman1
October 26th, 2013 @ 1:54 pm

How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/T7Lg2Cs6qv
ChandlersGhost
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:12 pm

Done. Just broke 200 a few days ago.
Patriot
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:18 pm

McCain, did you see this?

http://zandali.forumotion.com/t240-neal-rauhauser-sells-mineral-rights-on-his-land-to-eog-for-fracking#665

This blogger is reporting that Rauhauser sold the mineral rights to his land so it can be frakked.
MattRoss
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:18 pm

I followed him. Never doubt the ability of the Conservative blogoshpere, or Ali!
MattRoss
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:19 pm

Those are some impressive stats. Now, if only someone in the stupid party would capitalize on that.
directorblue
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:22 pm

How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/BvvmHaWggR via @rsmccain, the @nytimes hardest hit.
rsmccain
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:25 pm

RT @directorblue: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/BvvmHaWggR via @rsmccain, the @nytimes hardest hit.
starrick1
October 26th, 2013 @ 2:44 pm

RT @directorblue: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/BvvmHaWggR via @rsmccain, the @nytimes hardest hit.
BobBelvedere
October 26th, 2013 @ 3:26 pm

RT @directorblue: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/BvvmHaWggR via @rsmccain, the @nytimes hardest hit.
Jimi971
October 26th, 2013 @ 3:39 pm

RT @rsmccain: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/sGeVEFRj7V | | @MSNBCWatch @assouthall @CRNC @Reince @billmurphy @DylanByers @Reb…
SiteROI
October 26th, 2013 @ 3:41 pm

RT @rsmccain: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/sGeVEFRj7V | | @MSNBCWatch @assouthall @CRNC @Reince @billmurphy @DylanByers @Reb…
NCTea411
October 26th, 2013 @ 4:40 pm

RT @directorblue: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/BvvmHaWggR via @rsmccain, the @nytimes hardest hit.
Sarah Palin’s Bear, Piers Morgan, and Weekend Links!
October 26th, 2013 @ 6:19 pm

[…] Other McCain has many good blog posts up including this one by Stacy on “How @Elliott_Echols Won […]
senatorshoshana
October 26th, 2013 @ 7:33 pm

RT @rsmccain: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/sGeVEFRj7V … | | @senatorshoshana @assouthall @GOPfashionista @Professor_Why @mV…
jillhoman
October 26th, 2013 @ 7:41 pm

RT @rsmccain: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/sGeVEFRj7V … | | @senatorshoshana @assouthall @GOPfashionista @Professor_Why @mV…
txrepublican
October 26th, 2013 @ 8:36 pm

How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/I6xgdxmylt |Please follow @Elliott_Echols, push him over 5K now! #TeaParty #tcot #Liberty
dimarshll
October 26th, 2013 @ 8:41 pm

Please Pass it on! (NYT dares us to?) Give a follow and RT for –> @elliott_echols =new RNC youth director #gop http://t.co/RHRLtmxmFA
RECUROUSA
October 26th, 2013 @ 8:48 pm

RT @txrepublican: How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter http://t.co/I6xgdxmylt |Please follow @Elliott_Echols, push him over 5K now! #TeaParty #t…
DaveWeston
October 26th, 2013 @ 8:50 pm

RT @dimarshll: Please Pass it on! (NYT dares us to?) Give a follow and RT for –> @elliott_echols =new RNC youth director #gop http://t.co…
believer146
October 26th, 2013 @ 8:53 pm

RT @dimarshll: Please Pass it on! (NYT dares us to?) Give a follow and RT for –> @elliott_echols =new RNC youth director #gop http://t.co…
HaydenStone
October 27th, 2013 @ 3:55 pm

RT @elliott_echols: Just a small glimpse of what conservatives can do. Thanks for the help! RT: @rsmccain How @Elliott_Echols Won Twitter h…