Twitter is all the rage these days, and despite having no way to monetize the technology and far too many people documenting each micro-step of their own lives, organizations from CNN to local elementary schools are using the free web and cell-phone based messaging service. Now governments at the federal, state and local level are also beginning to squeeze their communications into the rapidly fired, 140-character messages that have made Twitter famous and highly addictive.
Although it's possible stories about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians will break in real-time on Twitter one day, the service is more useful for emergency notifications like car accidents, structural fires, food recalls, extreme weather conditions, and massive train derailments - you know, the uplifting news.
OhMyGov! already reported on one of the most traditional American institutions, the Library of Congress, using Twitter. Now there are dozens of government agencies and public servants - from the Los Angeles Fire Department, to the Washington State Department of Transportation, to the Food and Drug Administration, to the U.S. Department of State - that are starting to speak in ‘tweets.' And they are attracting a substantial following.
It's all about instant access and gratification. Unlike government websites, which are notoriously difficult to navigate, Twitter feeds have made the job of rapid information-sharing easy for both the messenger and the recipient.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) uses its Twitter page to update the public about fires, numbers of firefighters dispatched to the scene, injuries and casualties that have occurred, and if any hazardous materials are present. In response, citizens nearby can provide valuable information about the nature of the fire and the environmental conditions, such as wind speed and direction, that dispatched firefighters can use for preparing.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) spokesman Lloyd Brown told GovTech that diverting heavy traffic from the WSDOT website to Twitter in an emergency situation like a snowstorm is crucial to the continued operations of his agency, which currently has a 3,117 person-strong following on Twitter.
"In an emergency, people will come to our website en masse to the point that it overwhelms our servers; because the website is a popular source of traffic updates, sometimes it can't handle a spike in page hits," Brown said. "One of the things we're considering if we get into an emergency situation like that, we can update Twitter and our blog with our handheld Blackberry."
Brown isn't the only one updating his agency's following on Twitter, though. On February 23, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten passed down a technologically-historic verdict allowing Wichita Eagle seasoned court reporter Ron Sylvester to Twitter live from a courtroom in Wichita, Kansas the proceedings of a racketeering trial.
"Federal court traditionally has tighter rules," Sylvester wrote on his blog. "For instance, federal courts do not allow cameras, video or audio recording in the courtroom."
Luckily, since Twitter doesn't classify as a camera, video or audio recording, the 868 eager followers on Sylvester's Twitter page can sleep with ease tonight knowing he, and his Nancy Drew-like Twitter updates, will be back each day to post updates.
"The trial has concluded for today," Sylvester twitted from his cell phone March 5, the fourth day of trial testimony. "It will resume at 8 a.m. Friday."
The blog flyforchange published an older, but impressive list of government Twitterers that includes, with Twitter profile names:
@TheWhiteHouse - The White House
@HouseFloor - U.S. House of Representatives
@SenateFloor - The U.S. Senate
@dipnote - The U.S. Department of State
@govgab - USA.gov, component of their blog, GovGab
@greenversations - The Environmental Protection Agency
@TSABlogTeam - Transportation Security Administration, Based on TSA's Evolution of Security Blog
@USAgov - USA.gov
@GobiernoUSA - USA.gov's Spanish Portal
@womenshealth - Womenshealth.gov
@NASA - Well, it's NASA =) Check out NASA's Twitter box and find various other NASA Twitter feeds about certain missions including @MarsPhoenix, @nasacolab, and 13 other NASA related feeds!
Congress
@BarackObama - Barack OBama
@joebiden - Sen. Joe Biden
@JimDeMint - Sen. Jim DeMint
@SenatorDodd - Sen. Chris Dodd
@ChuckGrassley - Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa)
@frankwatson - Sen. Frank Watson
@jiminhofe - Sen. Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma)
@johnculberson - Congressman John Culberson
@MarkUdall - Congressman Mark Udall (Colorado) On his website, he is even implementing his own mini-social network for citizens to join, blog and join county groups!
@TomLatham - Congressman Tom Latham (Iowa)
@neilabercrombie - Congressman Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii)
@ThadMcCotter - Congressman Thad McCotter (Michigan)
@CongJoeWilson - Congressman Joe Wilson
U.S. States
@schwarzenegger - California Gov. Arnold Schwarsenegger
@GovernorGibbons - Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons
@govgranholm - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm
@johncherry - Michigan Lieutenant Gov. John Cherry
@PeterKinder - Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Peter Kinder
@coloradogov - Colorado Government
@kygov - Kentucky Government
@vermontgov - Vermont Government
@UtahGov - Utah Government
@SCGOV - South Carolina Government
@www_maine_gov - Maine Government
@rigov - Rhode Island Government
The list has surely grown, but if you're looking to keep up with the latest and greatest happenings in government and Washington, perhaps it's time to get your Tweet on.
@ohmygov is our Twitter handle. Check it out!
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