Did Twitter followings translate into votes? In August, we explored Boston political twitter. Now that the preliminary election has happened, we have votes to check the theory.

If you’re new to state politics, calendars can be confusing. Each state has its own quirks and deadlines, and you may find yourself closely following the slow-moving proceedings in one legislature while another is in the middle of a flurry of votes. Especially if you’re a new staffer whose experience in politics has been campaigning and/or federal government, it can take time to understand when everything happens.

Twitter is the undisputed social media venue for national political conversations - presidents, senators, and reporters keep up a running stream of statements and reactions that compete with cable news as the background noise of Washington. Is the same true for city politics? A smaller geography means that real life conversations are more possible, but a more connected political ecosystem might also make a social network like Twitter more vibrant.

Late summer is often a slow period at the State House, and the lull may feel disorienting when you’re used to its hustle and bustle. Here are a few ideas for making the most of those quiet Augusts at the State House.

We downloaded the accounts followed by the 178 members of the Massachusetts State Legislature with public twitter accounts and who follow others. This gave us a list of 60,254 accounts that at least one representative or senator followed and 167,831 unique follower-followed relationships. The median legislator followed 740 accounts, though with a wide range across the building.

You can access and download the full data for the 28,000 most popular accounts with the button below. See how followed you might be and conduct your own analysis.

We’ve mined two months of the daily Politico Playbooks for California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. We want to use text mining to tell us how state politics is the same or different across the country. What is getting more positive, more negative, and what issues are trending.

Politics is, at its heart, about relationships. Since majority support is required to enact laws, legislators must dedicate time to building alliances with colleagues who will support their ideas and -- ultimately -- their bills. Forging connections in a legislative body isn’t just a part of an elected official’s job; it’s a critical function that shapes how the government operates.

How much time is lost every day that a state legislature drives to work?

When many people think of elected officials, they envision polished politicos whisking through stately corridors. They may picture noisy press briefings, lavish state dinners, or fiery primetime debates. In the American imagination, elected officials are masters of political intrigue who broker deals over martinis and expensive steak dinners.

In reality, public service looks a whole lot less like The West Wing and more like Parks & Recreation.