Government to outline policies in 140 characters?

It is official. Twitter has now crossed over from a web fad for nerds and egotists to a mainstream, widely accessible communication platform, as outlined in Dan Martin’s article this morning. The Government will dramatically step up its presence on the microblogging site, as directed in a 20 page strategy document released today. The document explains how the government plans to improve its Twitter standings and what they hope to gain from such exposure. Covering everything from content tone, frequency of posts and developing ‘campaign specific accounts’, this document outlines a clear and concise plan for this new fangled phenomenon.

“Win a reduction in tax; just add the hashtag #gordonisawesome”

However, is this the desperate attempt of an unpopular government to chime in on an incredibly popular international past-time? Is this a shrewd PR stunt in order to give the impression of government showing change and ‘getting down with the kids’? Or is this an exciting and well overdue project which will allow the people in power to re-engage with the masses?

Let me know your thoughts.

Tom

Tags: twitter

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.