Rahm Emanuel Launches First Mayoral Google Plus Page

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Nov 8, 2011 10:20PM

Google expanded access to its social network yesterday, allowing brands to create pages similar to Facebook fan pages, and the mayor's office says Mayor Rahm Emanuel has the first official mayor's office page on Google Plus.

Taking a lesson from his former boss President Barack Obama, Emanuel has embraced social media and fashioned himself as an early adopter. Emanuel's office proudly announced in September that Chicago would be the first city to have an official Foursquare badge for users who visit a number of Chicago landmarks like the Green Mill and the Michael Jordan statue. The mayor's office Twitter account is often interacting with commoners constituents, too. The mayor's office wrote in a release last night:

“This is an exciting new way for us to continue an open, public dialogue with Chicagoans and the 40 million people using Google+,” said Mayor Emanuel. “We will continue to search for new, innovative ways for the public to stay connected and hold government accountable.”

U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Joe Walsh have also launched their pages. Well what social media territory hasn't the mayor's office tackled yet? We haven't seen them on Tumblr or Flickr like the White House is. Perhaps they should start posting on Windy Citizen and Reddit. Hey, you never know. Maybe Emanuel will throw down a snide comment on our site.