Article from Policy Perspectives

Article from Policy Perspectives ()

February 23, 2009

What is Government Twittering About?

by Megan Crowley, Technologist, CPPA

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a rapidly growing social web technology that is gaining incredible uptake from the government sector. An elegantly simple design, Twitter functions by creating connections and then asking just one question: “What are you doing?” Although this may seem like a very personal question to ask a government entity, the answer to that question can be very informative. For example, a government employee or entity may post a link to a new service offering, talk about a new initiative they are working on, or announce an important event. This information sharing assists in attaining citizen participation and government transparency.

How does it work?

While it is possible to follow a Twitter without creating an account (Twitter accounts have a web link just like any web page), the following describes how to create an account and explains how Twitter works. You must have a Twitter account in order to search for others. To see an example of Twitters without creating an account, see CPPA’s Twitter at http://twitter.com/cppa.

To create an account:

First, go to www.twitter.com and create a Twitter account. Complete your profile.

Next, using a search function, find people and organizations to “follow” (see their posts). Other people and organizations will find you to follow using this same search function.

You can click on an entity you are following and follow who THEY are following. You can click on an entity that is following YOU and follow those that they are following.
This viral, organic way of building followers and following lists is preferable to a simple search because you can see the Twitters that those you respect follow.
Now, answer the question “What are you doing?” by posting with only 140 characters. This is called a “Tweet”.

We suggest that a web link (url) in your posting will give your followers much more valuable information than just posting what you are doing. Since you are allowed only 140 characters, Twitter shortens long links right in the posting field, using a tinyurl function. Tinyurl is a web service that takes long urls and shortens them which helps fit them into the 140-character limit. See tinyurl.com for more information. When links are too long to use the Twitter built in tinyurl function, you can go to tinyurl.com beforehand and get the tinyurl to use in your Twitter post.

On your Twitter home page, a list develops of the tweets you are following. If they have added a url, then you have the opportunity to go deeper into the subject of what they are doing. Another option is to click on who you are following to see only their latest tweets

Features of Twitter

One of the best features of Twitter is its simplicity. The following is a list of simple but powerful features that Twitter offers:

Forcing the 140-character limit encourages posters to be more succinct in their posts
The lack of other features keeps the time requirement low
The ability to add links creates a richer experience for followers
The ability to use Twitter on mobile devices such as cell phone or Blackberry
The ability to respond publicly or privately through direct messages
It’s free!

There are a variety of other third-party tools that work with Twitter and they have various functions from incorporation into your blog or website, to integration with other social web tools like Facebook. Here are just a few:

Twirl is a browser free Twitter client
Tweetscan is a search tool. You can search Twitters based on topics, partial names and more
Friendfeed aggregates your Twitter feed along with other news feeds you might be using
Twitterlocal keeps it local by finding tweets based on location in the profile

Some Types of Tweets (postings) with examples

Although the original purpose of a Tweet is to answer the “What are you doing?” question, many tweets are simply informational posts written in one concise sentence.

Type	Example
Alerts	Homeland Security: The U.S. threat level is High, or Orange, for all domestic and international flights.
Events	Utah Tech Council: Have you registered for our upcoming February events? http://www.utahtech.org/eve...
Announcements	Utah Gov: First two weeks of the Utah 2009 legislative session are over and captured on YouTube http://tinyurl.com/cj8t97
Informational	CPPA: Read our report "Undocumented Workers in a Declining Labor Market" at http://tinyurl.com/algavc
New Offerings	Utah Mitigation: See the new earthquake awareness brochure "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country." Nice work! http://ussc.utah.gov/public...
Questions	Utah Senate: Is Nuclear Energy Renewable????: by Patricia Jones Senate Minority Leader This question was posed this week on t.. http://tinyurl.com/cryuzs
News	Utah Gov: School districts throughout Utah are still looking for teachers, http://tinyurl.com/d2rf9z

Again, all of these types of tweets are more useful if combined with a link for more information.

Benefits of Government Twittering

Twitter creates an environment where:

Citizens can see what is happening in government
Government can see what is important to citizens
Government can see what is happening across branches and agencies
All entities can share information by adding links

Using Twitter is just one way that government groups are improving accessibility and government transparency by connecting directly with the public.

Utah’s Twitters

Several prominent Utah public entities are now twittering; the Utah Senate, Utah’s Parks and Recreation, Utah’s branch of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and even cities and towns. The following lists just a few:

Remember, you can view these Twitter sites without creating your own account by simply typing the web link into your browser, but you must have a Twitter account to search for others.

The Center for Public Policy & Administration has a Twitter located at: http://twitter.com/cppa.

David Fletcher, the Utah Chief Technology Officer has one of the most widely read Twitters (along with his blog). David’s Twitters are a good example of best practices in wording and link usage. http://twitter.com/dfletcher

The Utah State Senate has a very active Twitter located at: http://twitter.com/utahsenate

http://twitter.com/UtahStateParks

http://twitter.com/UtahGov

http://twitter.com/UT_MIT (Utah’s Homeland Security)

http://twitter.com/centervilleut (Centerville, Utah)

Note: CPPA is working on a larger report about eGovernment in Utah.
Megan Crowley has a background in technology and the web and is CPPA’s technologist.

Apendix

Partial list of Tweets found by searching for “gov” in Twitter

	schwarzenegger / Gov SchwarzeneggerOfficial page for the 38th Governor of California 14,902 followers · from Sacramento, California · updated 1:20 PM yesterday
	GovMikeHuckabee / Gov. Mike HuckabeeFOX Host, Bass Guitarist, Radio Commentator 2,715 followers · from Little Rock, Arkansas · updated about 4 hours ago
	womenshealth / womenshealth.govWomenshealth.gov is part of the US DHHS Office on Women's Health, the Federal Government's resource for women's health information. 1,758 followers · from US · updated about 3 hours ago
	www_maine_gov / maine.govCitizen Alerts from Maine.gov 777 followers · from Maine, USA · updated 6:15 AM Jan 29th
	UtahGov / Utah.gov 757 followers · from State of Utah · updated 8:08 AM yesterday
	The_Gov / The_GovEsoteric & possibly psychotic poker player...be afraid, be very afraid. ;) ~~~>>> If you just LOVE president Hussein, I am probably not a good twit to follow 499 followers · from North Florida & Las Vegas · updated about 1 hour ago
	GovGab / Gov GabA U.S. government blog from the Office of Citizen Services and Communications U.S. General Services Administration 487 followers · from Washington, DC, USA · updated about 9 hours ago
	kygov / Kentucky.govThe Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky 437 followers · from Frankfort, KY · updated about 1 hour ago
	coloradogov / colorado.govProvides Internet-based, electronic government services to state and local Colorado governments. 401 followers · from Colorado · updated 3:01 PM Feb 11th
	vermontgov / Vermont.govVermont Government Online 319 followers · from Vermont · updated 8:22 AM Feb 11th
	VisitNH / VisitNH.govE.J. is tweeting away on behalf of Travel and Tourism for the state of New Hampshire. Contact him at: VisitNH@gmail.com. 336 followers · from New Hampshire · updated about 7 hours ago
	rigov / RI.govRhode Island Government Online 291 followers · from Rhode Island · updated about 4 hours ago
	IDAHOgov / IDAHO.govIdaho's official website 280 followers · from Idaho, USA · updated 2:01 PM yesterday
	govritter / Gov. Bill Ritter, JrFather, Husband, Governor of Colorado, Democrat, Angler, Johnny Cash Fan 283 followers · from Denver, CO · updated about 22 hours ago
	migov / Michigan.govOfficial State of Michigan Portal 254 followers · from Michigan · updated 7:57 AM Dec 30th, 2008
	GobiernoUSA / GobiernoUSA.govThe Official Portal of the U.S. government in Spanish 225 followers · from Washington, DC · updated 9:08 AM yesterday
	BizarroBlago / Gov Blago ShakespearPoet Laureate of Illinois 182 followers · from Chicago, Illinois · updated 12:19 PM Feb 11th
	georgiagov / georgia.govOnline access to Georgia government 178 followers · from Atlanta, Ga. · updated 2:16 PM yesterday
	delaware_gov / Delaware.govDelaware.gov is the official website for the State of Delaware. For more information and online services visit Delaware.gov. 116 followers · from Delaware · updated about 3 hours ago

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