If you havent heard of Twitter, then your childen or someone in your office has. It is a microblogging site where users communicate in messages of 140 characters or less. Rather than make 'friends' as you might on Facebook etc, you choose to follow a person's updates and no permission is required from them for you to see their 'tweets'. So you can see what Stephen Fry has had for breakfast or where Britney Spears ended up last night.
But its not just for celebrity stalkers, several high profile local government figures are serious 'tweeters'. Andy Sawford Chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit is a prominent user and he has produced a list of the top ten most prolific local government users on the LGiU blog.
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Over here, naturally things are happening in a quieter fashion, but with a building momentum.
London mayor Boris Johnson has a more modest, but still impressive, 18,833 followers at time of writing. Followers of his may have picked up a chutney recipe or two, but will also have received some tweets of merit, know which events he is attending and where to find copies of his latest speeches. They can also 'respond' to his tweets and let him know what they think by putting @MayorOfLondon at the start of their entry.
But the reviews aren't all positive. A recent Times article went as far to say that politicians twittering was 'a symbol of a wider loss of confidence by the political class.' And many have criticised Twitter for offering pointless insights in to the lives of those we don't care about.
But for every anti there is a pro and, and Twitter can boast a growth rate of more than 1,000% in the last 12 months.
Case Studies of local government Twitter use.
Damian Talbot, from the opposition Labour group on Blackburn with Darwen Council. (263 Following 164 Followers)
'We set up our Twitter account to engage with people in the Blackburn area. It’s also brought the benefit of connecting us with a lot of other people involved with in local government and politics. Twitter is relatively new, so obviously we’re learning different ways of using the service and connecting with people all the time.
'The service has been great for getting news stories out there and we see an obvious boost to the traffic of our own website when we tweet something. But one of the most overlooked aspects of the service is how you can easily listen to what other people are saying.
'Some of us use services like TweetDeck, which actually allow you to monitor things in real time. This is incredibly useful for monitoring certain search terms such as “Blackburn” and seeing what issues are getting people talking. If it’s something that relates to our remit then we’re able to engage with them on it by sending them an @ reply.
'The fun side of this is we do occasionally find out strange things about our MP Jack Straw, for example:
'Sometimes tweeting does seem like a chore but it’s simply about getting into the right habits. At a recent Progress conference one of our members went to, Labour blogger Derek Draper likened politicians saying they haven’t got time to engage online to saying they are “too busy to make a speech”. As tweets are only 140 characters it doesn’t take long so it’s much quicker to do that than write an article for your website.
'We think this will really come into its own at times of high activity such as elections.
'There is obviously that attraction of it being a fun new tool which is getting lots of attention. But what makes Twitter so popular is that it’s transcended being the zeitgeist thing on the Internet because it’s genuinely useful.
'We have also have:
A website:
A YouTube account:
And a flickr account:
'But the thing about twitter is the immediacy. What made Facebook status updates and wall posts good was that they were pithy and to the point. Tweets are the logical extension of this. We use Twitter much more than Facebook because it really strips everything to the bone – it’s all about communicating and engaging and that’s all. If you want to see photos of people or what films they like then look on Facebook but as councillors and political activists this doesn’t relate to the core of what we do as well as Twitter does.'
James Cousins, cabinet member at Wandworth LBC (personal account) (196 following 217 followers )
'Although it is a personal account I tend to use it quite a lot for my council work, so will happily answer questions or deal with issues raised via it.
'I also try and keep a look out for any council related issues on there.
'I've created work for myself. I've picked up on several issues which I have, or am, dealing with. However, I've also probably got more thanks for work I, or the council, have done through Twitter than I have through any other medium in the past ten years!
'That might be because it's quite easy to Tweet a thanks, but also because I can be a bit more pro-active and address issues before people feel they need to speak to their councillor.
'It doesn't really take that much time to be on Twitter. Having said that, Twitter tends to take up the time that would otherwise be lost, for example I often spend a while on there while travelling (when I wouldn't be doing anything else) or it forms the basis of a break from other work.
'No, of my 10,000 or so residents I can safely say 99% don't give a stuff whether I'm on Twitter or not. For those who are on Twitter they generally find it useful that they have an accessible councillor.
'Twitter is a medium, and regardless of the traditional media attention it's got recently it is just a way of communicating. My view is that if Wandsworth residents are gathering and chatting there, then I should be there too. I wouldn't assess whether my ward SNT meeting or residents' meetings are 'with it' before I went along, and don't with Twitter.
'I am on Facebook, but find I very rarely log-in. I'm pretty much exclusively on Twitter now. Comparing the two I had more benefit from being actively on Twitter in a few weeks than I got from being on Facebook for years. I'm starting to build up my Linked-In network, but very slowly. I watch what's happening locally on YouTube and tinker, on a very minor level, with Flickr. Beyond that I'm on a social music network, but that only makes me embarrassed about my taste in music!
'Twitter is about making new connections. One of the reasons I don't use Facebook is because it is backward looking, it's people you once knew. While it was nice to catch up people I haven't spoken to in years, you usually realise there's a good reason you've not spoken to them since university. On Twitter there's no barrier to following someone you find interesting, or contributing to a conversation.
'Because of this I've developed new networks and contacts which I would never have built on Facebook, or would have taken an age on Linked-In.
'There are two main negatives I have experienced with Twitter.
'First, it increases the expectation of speedy responses and resolutions. If I am able to answer a query or concern I can do it there and then. However, if not, I usually have to rely on traditional methods, like phone calls or emails. And, of course, that the officers I contact are able to respond promptly.
I've experienced a couple of examples where people are frustrated because I've not been able to turn something around in a couple of days, when, pre-Twitter, weeks would have seemed acceptable.
'Second, there is the risk of mis-interpretation of the 140 character messages, either accidental or wilfully. While most people do engage constructively it I have experienced some, sadly, do not. If you are political, then you have to balance up the risks. Do you spend a disproportionate time trying to make sure you cannot possibly be misinterpreted, disengage totally or take the balanced risk.
'I set up a Birmingham BEST twitter account as an additional way of communicating and engaging with our staff, the Birmingham community and with those in the professional area of engagement. Initially when I set it up, I hoped to get some followers who were our employees, and who might be interested in reading about the BEST programme, and some of the events etc that we were planning.
'On the day of a recent new media seminar in Birmingham it was very snowy, and from 6am twitter was busy with people asking ‘is the seminar still on?' 'what is travel like?’ etc, and the attendance was fantastic. Normally, on a snowy day, with a local government event, the drop off rate would be high. I believe that the excellent attendance was in part due to the emotional attachment and commitment that the attendees had already made to others’ before attending. I think this is very powerful and a tool to be utilized for the future, and I want us to be part of that, as I think it’s important for engagement.
'I have found that 140 character tweets, give you an insight into the people behind a brand, behind a name, behind a job title, and act as signposts to more information. ‘that person sounds interesting, I like that insight – what else are they saying, who are they following, who is following them?’ – are they the kind of people that could add value to our work, and know information about Birmingham that we can share, and facilitate more conversation and improve the service that we deliver.
'I like that if you ask an honest question, you inevitably, on twitter, get a series of honest answers. That takes a leap of faith, but is also so powerful that I don’t think it could, or should, be ignored.
'In local government we are here to deliver the best service that we can, to our local people, and who better to ask and engage about that, than those people themselves. By having these channels of communication that are free, easy to use, and accessible, we can improve our public service delivery and engagement in an interesting, modern, current way.
'In local government we are here to deliver the best service that we can, to our local people, and who better to ask and engage about that, than those people themselves. By having these channels of communication that are free, easy to use, and accessible, we can improve our public service delivery and engagement in an interesting, modern, current way.
'On Twitter I have ‘met’ others with similar professional interests, which have been followed up with phone calls and real life meetings, I have given feedback, received feedback and been able to point people in right direction. It has generated some evidence for me and others to take back to our communications director Debra Davis, to incorporate social media tools into future media planning for Birmingham City Council.
'I was able to attend the Birmingham Power of Information Report Taskforce group and meet the very strong and popular Birmingham blogging community members, and meet Will Perrin. I have been in contact with other engagement professionals, the IdeA representatives, have found out information I would not have otherwise known and have added our twitter feed link to email sign offs, local press, our internal magazine articles and out website.
'I was able to attend the Birmingham Power of Information Report Taskforce group and meet the very strong and popular Birmingham blogging community members, and meet Will Perrin. I have been in contact with other engagement professionals, the IdeA representatives, have found out information I would not have otherwise known and have added our twitter feed link to email sign offs, local press, our internal magazine articles and out website.
'I have ‘tweeted’ from events, and added pictures etc where I can. There has been really positive feedback to this too, with comments on Birmingham from others around the world.
'We have a Facebook group, which only has a small amount of members. We have a website http://www.birminghambest.co.uk, and there is a virtual Birmingham on Second Life ran by our partners www.digitalbirmingham.co.uk.
'Twitter is quick, it’s fast, it forces you to be to the point, it’s instant, you can respond to others, there is a sense of community, it makes real life networking easier as you already have a basis for conversation, it’s something ‘different’ and it provokes meaningful conversation'
