(CNN) – At nearly 74 years old, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, might not be the first person to come to mind when you're asked to name a social media "genius." But according to a new joint study, he is just that–the U.S. senator most adept at using social media.
New York University professor Scott Galloway and George Washington University School of Business dean Doug Guthrie ranked all 100 U.S. senators based on what they call the lawmakers' "digital IQ." The score is derived from a combination of metrics culled from each senator's activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, political blogs and their own congressional website.
Republican Sens. Jim DeMint and Scott Brown took a close second and third behind McCain, with Sen. Al Franken–the Senate's most social media-savvy Democrat–coming in at number four.
McCain's digital IQ of 156 was enough for researchers to classify him as a "genius." DeMint, Brown and Franken are also in the genius category, with IQs of 154, 152 and 143.
Republicans average 5.5 points higher than Democrats, according to the study. Their IQs also grew faster, as members of the GOP saw 6.7 percent month-over-month growth on Facebook versus just 3.6 percent for Democrats.
"President Obama pioneered the social media trail. However, Republicans are blazing it," the headline of the study's introduction says.
The analysis found that the 10 most conservative Republicans–according to their voting records–have a higher average digital IQ than the rest of their party, while the 14 most liberal Democrats lag behind their party.
"If social media is the temperature of the digital domain, it may be an especially cold fall for Democrats," the study's authors write in the report.
The non-partisan think tank L2 released the report, "Digital IQ Index: U.S. Senate" on Thursday.
From CNN Politics
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If McCain is such a social networking genius......why does he keep tweeting about Snooki?
Trust when you say "online" to McCain, he thinks you are talking about a clothes line. He knows nothing about social media and his staff handles all of that.
He will best be remembered as the man who gave us Sarah Palin...and that says it all.
Because that makes him a better person... yay.
It means the Republicans are spending a lot more money and inviting more interns and volunteers to send out the status messages. I seriously doubt McCain is online going "ZOMGZ teh Ob(s)ama is wrong 4 'merica". I do believe Palin is doing all her own stuff though cos that stuff is coming straight form an r-tard.
Genius is NOT a word that comes to mind when I think of this grumpy old man who is responsible for unleashing Caribou Barbie Palin.........UGH!
this is just begging for a witty comment....but I forgot, Republicans are uneducated and not intellectual so I'll just keep it to myself....let the myth perpetuate itself
uuh what'd u say
At least John McCain learned something from Ron Paul.
Who cares?
This old coot does not know how to use internet....okay....just ignore....this coot...
Ironic since he claimed to not use technology during the Presidential election... Must have hired some kids to help him out.....
That's amazing – in only two years, McCain has gone from trying to use his TV remote to turn his "computing-machine" on, to being on the cutting edge of technology & communications. Kudos to the Senator from AZ! We clearly should've elected him and Alaska Barbie, right? His acumen and genius-osity has shone thru.
Well, thank you "genius" for foisting Sarah Palin on us.
......and if volume of Tweets were an indication of genius (as it appears they measured activity by), then Sarah Palin is Albert Einstein.
It's QUALITY, not quantity, folks.
A survey/study that means absolutely nothing to men and women looking for work as the senators tweet with other DC twits.
Amazing that a college would pay for such a study when students are facing record increases in the cost attending those schools.
I have a question, which one of the DC genius crowd has a solution to US homelessness, high co9st of education and a job market that makes the great depression look like the good old days?
Poor John,lets give credit where credit is due.John cant even call home on his phone,we all know,turd blossom, Carl Rove is still running the rightwing media machine.
Wow, I'm impressed. At least he's good at something! What else has he done during his recent term to earn re-election? I cannot think of a single accomplishment this over-the-hill pol has done recently. I don't think I can ever forgive him for giving us Palin. What a blight on this Country that dimwit is. She just won't just shut up and go away!
Of course, it was just referring to his score at FarmVille.
Oh, yes,
and I'm the queen of England.
blah blah........
Does this now mean that Sarah Palin is now going to be considered a "genius"? She is far from it!
how is this a surprise? Of course he has the most extensive social networking web- a remnant of a developed presidential campaign in the digital age. he had all sorts of people working on his campaign and inserting him into social networking sites.
McCain is anything but a genius...
When did you all make this up? John McCain do not have an I Q.
Let's see. Social media IQ of 156. Vetting_Ability_IQ of zero. Average IQ of 78. Does that mean that McCain can blame Sarah Palin for making him a moron? Why not? She's made idiots of the entire Republican Party.
He is probably following his friend Sarah Palin, which is all she is good at. He's still a lousy Senator and she is still a lousy candidate for anything.
Good to see the old boy is good at something. Although, I'd be willing to bet that he has no clue but rather a well informed staff.
McCain didn't know how to use anything during the presidential campaign, someone else is using these items in his name
I wouldn't call anyone who let Sarah Palin loose on America a genius in any respect, in any technology, in any field.
Are you serious? This guy was already 90 years old at the dawn of the computer era.
McCain and Genius don't go together ever again after he picked Sarah Palin for VP.
McCain a genius? He picked Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. Hardly the stuff of a genius there.
This is a clear reason to doubt the purpose of making a study that is clearly flawed. His aides handle this and I doubt he would be able to discuss technology in even the briefest manner – old and getting older.
Not to mention McCain's taste for younger women. McCain-Snooki in 2012.
This is ludicrous to call him a social media genius! Do you not remember his campaign!
Well, if the studies rank "media brilliance" on facebook, youtube, twitter activity and blogging, and John McCain is a genius, that means he's not leaving much time for getting anything else accomplished. Spend all your time tweeting, that's valuable time that could be put towards deal making and legislating – y'know, what congresspeople are supposed to do! Aim high!
I follow McCain on Twitter because he is vigilant about tweeting in real time. I can know what committee is doing what before it ever hits CNN. He also inspired me to follow my local state Senator (Kyle McCarter) and Bill Brady. No "media bias" filter for me.
Are you kidding me? Just because anyone in the Senate is the best the Senate has to offer–I'm sorry but that's hardly a sign of genius. That simply makes him better than the rest of a pack that has what? A pathetic 17% approval rating? There are 8-year old kids with more tech savvy than the entire Senate and House put together.
Maybe a genius but ABSOLUTELY NO COMMON SENSE – AHHHH – Sarah Palin ! Need to prove my point any more than that?
After his selection of Half Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, being a genius on a BlackBerry would equate him only to the status of a little less than a Dunce in the White House.
I think he's hired some very social-media-conscious staffers. They do the tweeting, facebooking, etc. I doubt Sen. McCain fully understands what they're doing. Look at the hits he took during the election for his lack of knowledge in this area. Social media genius? No – but a politician who learns quickly and takes action to correct a perceived weakness.
I believe what they mean to say is that they have genius staffers. Nobody believes that these senators are planning their social media strategy.
Someone has to keep track of all those tubes that make up the Internet now. We've got our man. Send him to Silicon Valley ASAP! Don't waste him on Arizona alone!! I mean it!!!
Yea, it was sure "genius" selecting Sara Palin as a running mate!
Yeah. A man with no dignity
John Mccain can't even be close to be called a genius after picking Sarah Palin as his running mate and getting blasted in the presidential elections. If he is the best Senator using social media guides then we have a major problem with our government. Oh that's nothing new!
McCain social media "genius"? Come on CNN, McCain is
obviously paying someone to do this work.
Old man McCain probably does not know how to use a computer!
McCain is a genius alright. He got Sara Palin and Joe the plumber into the arena. Sara is completely out of coherance with the GOP and Joe the plumber started this Tea Party thing and will most likely take votes away from the Republicans. Way to go, McCain.
Most ridiculous thing I've heard today.....
Digital IQ. Are you serious? McCain is an avowed Luddite. He wouldn't know a twitter from a twinky. These high digital IQs belong to the cadre of professional PR people and not the individual senators. Gimme a break!
Well odds are he had to be good at something.
Pagan jim
Well I so glad this so called "Genius" isn't in the WH...
So it's based on how often they use it, not that they make any sense. Some study.
Vote NO in NOvember to the party of NO.
I'll believe it when I see it, John McCain was still using the "Jitter Bug". I'd say check out his daughter and his wife who are probably doing the work.
I like John McCain he is a good U.S. Senators,and would of make a good President. But he make one bad choice he pick Saran Palin too be his Vice President. Now two years later she still won't shut up. The American people just want her to go away for good.
Really? Is this the same John McCain that during the 2008 election, said:
“I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need.”
“I’ve never felt the particular need to e-mail.”
If McCain's a genius? He certainly didn't show it at Annapolis -
He's shown repeatedly poor judgment - low morals - cheated on his wife and then dumped his wife after she was so loyal to him - worst judgment call - Palin
Now he's just senile -
pathetic.
This is the same Genius that brought us another genius Sarah Palin?
No question about it, our country is in a downward spiral with the likes of these people.
And I thought he still used a rotary phone. Now get off my grass!
Hillarious Republicans invent system to make them look much smarter than they really are!
What a total fraud of an article. This is how the right campaigns. Anyone that calls McCain and genious automatically looses any and all crediability. The number of friends you have on facebook does not make you any smarter. Only an idiot would try to pass thisoff as an IQ.
Can't the right just be honest about anything?
Quote: 'The score is derived from a combination of metrics culled from each senator's activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, political blogs and their own congressional website.'
Ah, but there is the key lie: SENATOR's activity. Most of these blogs and posts (maybe except for twitter) are NOT actually posted by the senator themselves, but by much more skilled members of their staff. You actually think McCain writes and edits his own senate webpage? Don't make me die from laughing!
John McCain is not adept at anything but blowing his own horn. If he is so "adept" at using media then why did he ever choose Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. She completely co-opted his campaign and the result showed that if he could not fall back on his status as a "POW" then he would have nothing to crow about. Whomever made up this report is just trying to fan interest in the Republicans who have nothing to offer this country but complaints. What a sham report!
Seems like the "genius" bar get lower and lower...pretty soon I should get that call from the Nobel folks.
No offense to McCain etc, but really...come on!!
I want to congratulate the underpaid college dropout intern on the McCain staff for maintaining the senator's facebook updates so well that it impressed two academics we've never heard of.
You have got to be kidding!
John McCain – Sarah Palin??? – Genius, I think not.
If you believe John McCain is actually the one posting on Twitter and Facebook, you are as gullible as they come! I'm sure he's got an aide or his daughter or someone helping him. I know from experience how much time/effort can go into working all of these social networks and if he's really doing his job, then he doesn't have time to be online with this stuff.
Uh, yeah, he's a genius – at hiring social media consultants to masquerade as him on Twitter and Facebook. During the 2008 campaign, Grandpa Munster admitted he'd never even sent an email before and suddenly he's a social media master? Sure, that's plausible.
No disrespect intended to any of the named lawmakers ... but is this judging their ability, or the ability of the staff person who might be posting items for them? Surely they delegate some tasks.
This ranking to the man who couldn't use email less than two years ago? What a flawed study. They should have studied who tweets, emails, facebooks, etc. on thier behalfs. The Republicants simply found another way to bash and spread vitroilic horse manure to hide the fact that they have no clue how to lead and no ideas or solutions to America's problems.
"Social media intelligence quotient?" Once upon a time, IQ tests measured intellect. Seemingly, no American politician today can boast an (honest) score which would lead one to think in terms of three digits instead of two. That's the impression we get left with. So many geniuses taking on so many of America's problems... yet the problems remain or get worse? We need less geniuses, and more hard work.
NOW we know! Rather than doing the job of governing, the GOP is spending their time using the Internet to spread their fear-based propaganda. Note to my Arizona resident self: Do not vote for John McCain.
Right. And the most compelling proof is his choice for VP in '08!!!
NO respect for a man who runs away with another woman after his real wife was disfigured from a car accident.
laughable..just laughable
If a study says that McCain is a genius, doesn't that effectively make the people who conducted this study idiots?
"Metrics"
Translation: "We cooked it."
Scott Galloway is a fraud corporatocrat d-bag who was placed on the NY Times' board almost by force by Harbinger Capital, a Park Avenue HEDGE FUND that had purchased a 19% share (yes, you CAN draw conclusions about where his ideological loyalties lie...after all the NYT is the rag that helped Bush "out" Plame and sell us the Iraq War). He also had his own hedge fund called Firebrand Partners. He was kicked off the board of directors of his own e-commerce company he founded, Red Envelope...he fought his way back onto the board but it went bankrupt and laid off everyone. He is a professor for the "brand strategy" class, which teaches students how to convince the consuming public to buy things and spend their money based on name recognition, etc. Lastly, he made quite a little name for himself responding to a very polite email from a student by flaming the holy hell out of him/her and using profanity, and multiple sources report him as being a "self important jacka$$."
Guthrie only recently became dean at GW after being a fellow professor of Galloway's at NYU. His record seems a bit cleaner and less ideologically stilted from what I can tell...he appears to be more just an academic.
In any event, the social media "genius" of any particular senator shoudl be attributed to whoever the heck they are paying to do it for them...the vast vast majority of them couldn't type on a Speak & Spell if you held a razor to their tender nips.
All I can say is considering what he hasn't been a part of for the last two years, I'd like to know what he is being judged on. Sara Palin, loss of the election, double talking every time he can't think fast enough. I used to have respect for this man but as the world has turned I find him just a tired, lazy old has been.
what were they using? an abacus ? McCain couldn't even do txt messaging during his bid for president. Or is this a satire perhaps.
How is this relevant? How did they calculate these seemingly random numbers that make no sense?
vote backwards vote republican -vote foreward 21st century democrate
Genius is not a word that I would use to describe the man who gave us Sarah Palin.
Well, that's what's important, right? Being "a social media genius."
Being a war hero and POW? Child's play!
Tossing away his hopes of being President by picking a nutjob/moron for a running mate, and stepping into G.W. Bush's good graces by throwing away his own integrity - that was no big deal.
But being able to use Facebook and Twitter - that's important!
Talk about outliving your 15 minutes of fame...
If the gops iq is better then dem why does the gop cry all the time they only care for the rich i did not go to college but i care for people ifthe gop wins the election in nov god help us all
Everybody knows Republicans are smarter than Democrats. It's the left-wing media that keeps pushing the "myth" that Democrats are smart and Republicans are stupid.
George W. Bush (although much too stubborn) was heads above Al Gore in the "smarts" department, but the media narrative tried to sell us on just the opposite.
We see it too in the left's fear of Sarah Palin. Although she was much more qualified than Obama to be President, they they keep pushing the narrative of Obama as genius. Without his pre-written speeches on the teleprompter, we see that he's just a clueless, bumbling idiot.
Does any body realy think that the Senators actually input information into their social media sites
Now do some investigative work and find out which of his aides is actually doing the typing,
His media savy helped him say he didnt know anything about the economy, which helped him lose the election. Its also not helping him in his current relection in Arizona. He will probably lose to a right wing nut job. So whats the point.
I find this impossible to believe. The man could barely send an email before the campaign. Did this study take into account the firm he hired to manage his online presence?
Well, he ought to be king of social media; his entire Senate staff are lobbyists, they're the one with the skills to use the new media tools.
no "genius" would pick sarah palin to
be his vp.
Unreal and pure un-newsworthy and one dumb study. We know the name McCain and the word genius should be used in the same sentence. He could be able to adapt to *social media" wave but he is no genius, he picked Palin as his VP candidate. He also flopped his views to attract the conservative base during the campaign even when he knew they would not support him fully. If he was a genius he would picked someone else as his running mate, he would of had a more substantive message during the campaign. No, he is no genius.
the only piece of "genius" in this project is that Mess-rs. Galloway and Guthrie no doubt got someone/organization to *pay* them to come up with this completely pointless bit of "research".
It's reminiscent of the dot.com bubble when every piece of worthless info – and worthless company – was dished out to the public with ridiculously over-inflated importance.
go figure...
Probably the first time 'John McCain' and 'genius' have appeared in the same sentence – this is the 'genius' that picked a spectacularly unqualified VP candidate for his Presidential run.
By the way, who was the genius that connected genius McCain to the Palin genius? Who was the Geppetto?
Genius at social media? Perhaps. But at picking a running mate, an unbelievable imbecile.
Funny, since Sid McCrashup can't even operate a computer. I guess they really mean his *staff* is social-media savvy.
well, his HANDLERS may be very adept at social media. McCain couldn't be bothered with the little stuff.
Is this the same Sen. McCain who doesn't know how to use a
computer and didn't know how many homes he had?
By the way what is " social media" ?
So basically this article is saying that McCain and other old republicans have hired a bunch of young people to handle their social media. Obviously it's not McCain himself doing it, since he had no idea what he was doing in 2008.
seriously? you're joking right? This is pathetic journalism and if this is a factual study, it is clearly a biased sample. Obama raised most of his campaign money in $10-$20-$50 increments because of his TEAM'S social media prowess, as well as his youthful strategy.
This blog post is insulting.
I really doubt that McCain ACTUALLY was behind the "activity" on social media sites and his website. In fact, I am inclined to believe that very few senators and congressment actually spend time on these mediums. Don't they all have interns, or possibly staff members taking care of this kind of stuff? I'd hope so- we don't elect these people so they can tweet all day.
On the other hand, I do not have a problem with our legislators being technologically adept. But a "social media genius" ? That is as laughable as calling him a maverick.
Who is last?
Social media genius...what a joke. McCain's the knucklehead who pulled Palin out from under a rock, all because he wanted to beat Hillary Clinton to the White House. He told Americans he couldn't button his shirts and that's why he doesn't use the Internet. This article is a piece of crap no one buys into, so it was probably bought by a McCain admirer.
LOL
For someone who didn't use a BB in 2008 and now corresponds with snooki. 
Then again, this man goes from one bimbo to another pretty easily.
More like retarded...
Stupid article, just because you use it does not mean you use it well.
Anyone who picked Sarah Palin as his running mate must be a "genius"!!! lol
That's a pretty skewed study considering he has assistants/staffers who handle his social media for him....it's a marketing medium, not a personal interest of his. Most politicians and other public figures do the same thing. This doesn't mean he actually knows his facebook log-in or personally tweets. It just means he has a good staff of marketing/public relations savvy individuals working for him.
didn't maccain say during during the last election that he doesn't even use email? shouldn't this say that his STAFF is the genius? these professors must be dim
Apparently he was "genius" enough to Google Sarah Palin before he hitched his sinking ship to that anvil.
They also found that snakes are frogs and pigs are chickens. Retire, Grampa. Both parties resent you for bringing out Palin.
BWWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! You mean the 20-year-old managing his twitter account is the "genius," right?
Yes and I hear that the moon is made out of green cheese...
A "social media genius" and a "social catastrophe". Ask his wife.
Remember the 2008 presidential campaign? We were told repeatedly that McCain was technologically inept – part of the scare campaign about how old and out of it he was. How many other lies were we told?
um... Polls are BS and Americans are stupid. Thats all thats too it really.
Remember, they also bashed Obama because he was uber tech saavy, so believe what u must, but McCain is a dinosaur who probably needs his 12 year old nephew to check his email for him.
McCain rated a "social media genius".
Seriously, it's not April 1st, and that is what I just read.
Genius not,
Worm definately.
I don't think the adjective genius comes to mind when you think of the man who choose Sarah Palin as his running mate while running for the presidency. I guess she was the only one who could make him look like a genius by standing next to him. Kind of like a catch22, I look smart next to her because she's so dumb but I don't look smart because what kind of idiot would choose this numbskull as a running mate. By the way, didn't this guy finish next to last in his class at the naval academy?
Of course John is a Genius, the whole world knows about it when he picked Sarah Palin.
knowledgeable, perhaps........but genius, ???????????....that is for digital IQ............not to be confused with the real IQ
You would have to be a genius to slowly ruin this country and convince anyone that after X amount of years in Congress it's not your fault. Either that, or this is a direct comparison to his constituents...
Wait, it could be that it isn't his fault and that he has no impact or political clout to make improvements.
You decide.
One more time for you liberals, the Republicans do not have majorities in Congress, they do no have the presidency. The Congress has been owned by the democrats for four years now and the presidency for two years. To hold them responsible for the mess the liberals have created is a lie.
Does anyone seriously think McCain is posting anything to any social networking site HIMSELF? He has a handful of Alex P. Keaton-types trying to keep him in the blogosphere and therefore relevant. The man didn't even know that Iran was geographically between Iraq and Pakistan.
He is also a political genius, as he demonstrated when he selected the Wasilla Imbecilla as his running-mate.
Are you sure that McCain is the one actually using these tools. I highly doubt that. I would be inclined to think he has young savvy staffers who are doing this under his name.
Thanks CNN. I needed a laugh to start off my weekend. The only thing this man is a genius at – is picking women with no morals or standards but thanks anyway.
You've got to be kidding.
Yep, this guy really showed his "genius" streak when he chose Failin', Bailin', Quittin' Palin as his running mate.
Hah, anyone who thinks politicians are actually the ones posting on Facebook is sadly mistaken. All of these politicians hire 20-something grads of liberal arts schools to manage their facebook pages for them.
Just goes to show, polls are as reliable as a leaky umbrella! Get real! McCain the most savvy? O woe is us.
What a waste of time.
And you think McCain does this all by himself
A digital genius yet that sad sack picked Palin?
I would NEVER apply the term "genius" to McCain in any fashion, it's just not applicable. Archaic, neanderthalic, principleless, convictionless, spineless – those apply – genuis. Nope, can't buy it.
Does this make less eratic?
Too bad he did not win the presidential election. We would not be going over the cliff as we are under the dumb/clueless NObama administration. And most of all, he says what he means and means what he says.
He would not be a Liar-in-Chief or a Bully-in-Chief.
Can NObama claim the same? If he did, he would be lying, once AGAIN!
Yes, I AM a life-long Democrat.
If social media is the true test of a genius, my 3 year old grandson is just as smart as McCain.
TERM LIMITS TERM LIMITS TERM LIMITS TERM LIMITS
Too bad the Bush administration proved how low an IQ Republicans have for actually governing the nation... not simply blogging and twaddling.. sorry.. I mean twittering.
This must be some new definition of "genius" that I'm not aware of, one which gives IQ points for ignorance and backwards thought.
Being an active Twitterer and having as a running mate a complete Twit are different, yes?
I'll bet ya it was a GOP poll.
Stop the world – I want to get off!
John McCain as a "geniue" anything? What in the world is going on? This stumbling, bumbling, personality-less entity is about as far from "genius" as one could be.
Why would anyone author such an article? Is there so much blank space on the web to be filled? How about a larger font, instead!
Let's be accurate - McCain employs the most technical savvy staff. This is a man who said he didn't know how to use a computer just 2 yrs ago.