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Can Celebri-Twits Save Us From Carmageddon?
Lady Gaga at the Monster Ball, 3/28/11 (Photo by Joey Maloney/LAist)
If you are gaga over Lady Gaga sufficiently to monitor her 140 characters-or-less Twitter thoughts, would she be who helped you understand that Carmageddon isn't the end of the world? If that sounds as ridiculous as her meat dress, don't laugh just yet: The Los Angeles Police Department has been trying to recruit celebs, including Lady Gaga, to use their Twitter accounts to get the word out about the upcoming three-day 405 Freeway shutdown.
The LAPD have reached out to a slew of celebs with hearty Twitter followings (think Mr. @aplusk Ashton Kutcher and his 7 million devotees, and Kim Kardashian and her 8 million, and so on) to see if they'd be willing to sacrifice a Tweet or two to "urge their followers to avoid a 10-mile stretch of the roadway the weekend of July 15 but to encourage them to stay close to home," according to the LA Times.
The goal is to reach the folks who don't tune into television or radio news, or, apparently, use the internet for staying up-to-date with current local events. So basically 15-year-olds without driver's licenses. But, hey! The LAPD seem to think they're on to something. Lt. Andy Neiman said: "Twitter is a way to reach that whole demographic that could be oblivious to the 405 closure for that weekend."
Sadly, so far, the celebri-Twits are oblivious to their crucial role in saving Angelenos from themselves from July 15-18: No one has agreed to come on board the LAPD's campaign.
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