ON A RECENT Friday in Long Beach, California, more than a dozen mayors from across America sat in a circle in a cavernous conference room. They sipped coffee (it was 8am) and opened TikTok and Instagram on their phones. “Go and search on TikTok in your local city,” instructed Shelby Leimgruber, a self-described “creator-economy strategist”. “Spend ten minutes doomscrolling(末日刷屏), and you’ll be surprised what you find.” The session, part of the annual Conference of Mayors(① 背景：全美市长会议（U.S. Con...), was meant to nudge(轻推，推动) America’s local leaders to connect with(与……建立联系) influencers in their cities. Yet Elizabeth Kautz, the mayor of Burnsville, Minnesota wondered aloud(自言自语地疑问): “How can we become influencers as well?”
在加州长滩的一个最近的星期五，来自美国各地的十几位市长围坐在一个巨大的会议室里。他们啜饮着咖啡（当时是早上8点），并在手机上打开了TikTok和Instagram。“去TikTok上搜索你们的城市，”自称“创作者经济策略师”的谢尔比·莱姆格鲁伯指示道。“花十分钟末日刷屏，你会惊讶于你的发现。”这个环节是年度市长会议的一部分，旨在推动美国地方领导人联系所在城市的影响者。然而，明尼苏达州伯恩斯维尔的市长伊丽莎白·考茨自言自语道：“我们怎么能也成为影响者？”
She isn’t the only one. Daniel Lurie, the mayor of San Francisco, walks the streets between meetings to post from restaurants, street festivals and scenic sites. Dressed in a suit and tie, he shows off San Francisco’s pho, hot pot and salt bread. In one video the mayor hunts for Chonkers (a tremendously fat sea lion). His aim is twofold: support local spots and, by showing off the city, try to rehabilitate San Francisco’s tarnished reputation.(他的目标有两个：支持本地场所，并通过展示城市来努力修复旧金山受损的声誉。) “It’s a way to share what we’re working on, be transparent about our challenges, celebrate progress and highlight the people and places that make this city special,” says Mr Lurie. His posting is so prolific(多产的，大量的) that an analysis of his Instagram was part of the curriculum in Long Beach.
她不是唯一一个。旧金山市长丹尼尔·卢里在会议间隙走街串巷，从餐厅、街头节日和风景优美的景点发布帖子。他西装革履，展示旧金山的越南河粉、火锅和盐面包。在一个视频中，市长寻找“胖墩儿”（一只极其肥大的海狮）。他的目标有两个：支持本地场所，并通过展示城市来努力修复旧金山受损的声誉。“这是一种分享我们正在做的事情、对我们的挑战保持透明、庆祝进步并突出让这座城市变得特别的人和地方的方式，”卢里先生说。他的发帖如此之多，以至于对他在Instagram上的分析成了长滩培训课程的一部分。
But it’s not all pho and fat sea lions. Several mayors in Long Beach wondered how they could feature businesses without being accused of playing favourites(偏袒，偏心) or being corporate shills(企业托儿). How do you “make sure you’re not winding up doing car commercials for someone”? asked Derrick McDowell, the mayor of Youngstown, Ohio. Others worried that state laws banning officials from using TikTok on government devices would prevent posting. “The day you’re elected, half the people hate you,” noted Bobby Gutierrez, the mayor of Bryan, Texas. The TikTok savants at the conference seemed ill-equipped(装备不足，能力不够) to answer such questions, and settled for telling America’s mayors to “be really intentional” and “hire more young people”.
但并非全是越南河粉和胖海狮。几位长滩的市长想知道如何推荐商家而不被指责偏袒或成为企业的托儿。“你怎么确保自己最终不是在为某人做汽车广告？”俄亥俄州扬斯敦市长德里克·麦克道尔问道。其他人则担心州法律禁止官员在政府设备上使用TikTok会阻碍发帖。“你当选那天，一半人就已经恨你了，”得克萨斯州布赖恩市长博比·古铁雷斯指出。会议上的TikTok专家似乎没有能力回答这些问题，只能告诉美国市长们要“真正有意图”并“雇佣更多年轻人”。