Link: Palin executes her social media plan. For Weiner: Mistakes were made, pants were lost.

For Politicians, Social Media Holds Promise and Peril

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

If Sarah Palin is betting on the political promise of social media, Anthony Weiner is demonstrating its peril.

Both politicians — the former Republican governor of Alaska and the Democratic representative from New York — have seized on the power of Twitter and Facebook to reach supporters, evade the media and burnish their brands.