Clinton autographed a copy of her own meme and signed it, ''Hillary ‘Hillz.'' | REUTERS 'Hillz' hearts 'Texts from Hillary'

“ Texts From Hillary” has just added one VIP to its fan base: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself.

Adam Smith, who created the Tumblr account that has quickly gone viral with his friend Stacy Lambe – both communications professionals based in Washington, D.C. — told POLITICO soon after meeting the secretary of state Tuesday that he was “still in shock” about the invitation to the State Department.


“It was great. She came out, she was all smiles, told us how much she likes the site and that people have been telling her all about it,” Smith said. “She just thinks it’s great.”

Adding even more to Smith and Lambe’s excitement was a submission to “Texts From Hillary” from Clinton herself, featuring pictures of the two men.

( Also on POLITICO: "Texts From Hillary" creators call it quits)

“I think it’s hysterical,” Smith said. “I think it’s a terrible picture of me so I clearly need to add a little more privacy and security on Facebook!”

Clinton even autographed a copy of her creation, writing, “Adam — Thanks for the many LOLZ,” and signed it, “Hillary ‘Hillz.’”

The secretary of state’s personal interest in the meme was just one more proof that the original photo, taken by Time photographer Diana Walker (a similar one was also taken by Kevin Lamarque of Reuters), had captured Clinton so perfectly in her zone, Smith said. In the picture, Clinton is peering into her BlackBerry from behind a pair of sunglasses aboard a military plane.

“Her willingness to engage with us on the website proves our whole point in making it — that that picture was really great,” Smith said, before adding, “I’m not that eloquent right now because I’m still in shock!”

Lambe, who explained that they had decided to keep their meeting with the secretary of state under wraps until they were able to get the final confirmation from Clinton’s office, agreed with Smith that there was an irresistible appeal to Walker’s black-and-white photograph.

“It just captured this wonderful image of Hillary,” he said. “You definitely could tell she was in charge. You could tell she was getting stuff done there was just no question that this woman was a total badass.”

The idea for “Texts From Hillary,” Lambe said, came from a simple question that he and Smith were curious about when they first set their eyes on the photograph circulating online: “Who’s she texting?”

“But I don’t think anyone ever imagines that they’d create a meme like this and it becomes an overnight sensation,” he said. “It’s just been a wild ride.”

The concept behind the meme is simple: pair the Clinton photo with another picture of someone busy on their mobile device and write funny, creative captions on what the two parties might be texting to each other. (Here’s an example of a recent creation: Mitt Romney on his iPad: “Any advice?” Clinton: “Drink.”)

And as can be seen in the latest photo posted on “Texts From Hillary” featuring the two men posing next to a smiling, sunglasses-wearing Clinton, Lambe said the secretary of state — along with her staffers — seemed to have as much fun as her visitors on Tuesday.

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