He's been a House Rep and a chairman of Congress's budget committee. The Republican Party's proposal to balance the federal budget bears his name. Yet Paul Ryan--the Wisconsinite and now Vice-Presidential nominee--has a different battle ahead of him as the general election heats up: winning the hearts and minds of social media users.

Within moments of Mitt Romney's announcement of Ryan as his number two for his Presidential campaign, Ryan's profile on social media rocketed. According to OhMyGov Analytics, Ryan has over 197,000 Facebook fans and over 274,000 Twitter followers online--the same as some large government agencies. Yet he stands at #37 in OhMyGov's overall rankings for Congress, sandwiched between former Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul and Iowa's Steve King.

The media has weighed in on Romney's VP pick, with over 500 articles written about Ryan on Aug. 12 alone. The debate over his qualifications on social media rages on.

"Ryan is the worst candidate I have ever seen to elect as VP!" @SupermanHotMale tweeted following Romney's announcement in Norfolk, Virginia last Saturday.

"Superb speech by @PaulRyanVP," Fox News analyst Monica Crowley wrote. "Whereas Obama made it all about him, Romney and Ryan make it about US. About America."

Outside social media, Ryan's favorability rating is just as evenly divided. The highly unscientific electionsmeter gives him an extremely generous 50 percent approval rating. Meanwhile, Rasmussen--the polling agency generally regarded as favoring Republicans--gives him a modest 39 percent approval rating.

Like many unknowns, Ryan has already attempted to brand himself--at least on social media. There is the aforementioned Twitter handle, as well as a companion account on Facebook, which garnered over 17,000 comments in a single post alone.

A casual glance at Twitter illustrates the challenges Ryan must overcome if he's to make an impression on voters.  Among detractors, phrases like "right wing racist,” "absolute chaos," and "not the right man for the job" appeared in numerous tweets following the announcement of him as Romney's VP.

Conversely, supporters were more apt to use positive words such as "bold", "strong," "humble," and "grownup” that underscore Ryan as a wholesome, family man, not the conservative fire bomber progressives describe him as.

The Romney campaign has already rolled out their version of Ryan in front of the press. Yet with Labor Day looming and the general election less than three months away, Ryan will have to reach out to more than just conservatives if he's to sway voters Romney's way.