June 15, 2009
Government on Twitter
By Elisabeth Grant
First YouTube, then blogging, and now Twitter; it appears that the U.S. government has fully embraced Web 2.0.
By now, most people have heard of Twitter, the “micro-blogging” service that allows users to post 140 (or less) character messages on their profile pages, or send these messages to other users who subscribe to their “tweets.” And now the U.S. Government is getting into the act.
While Twitter is a popular site for the text-happy younger generation who want to stay in touch with friends, it’s also being embraced by organizations and established institutions as a way to communicate news, events, exhibits, and more. And this group includes government agencies.
What parts of the government are on Twitter? Steve Lunceford, blogger and managing director of a PR firm, has created an extensive list of areas of government on Twitter, including “state and local, federal, contractors, reporters, academics, judicial branch and more.” He plans to keep this list up to date, and will announce changes to it in a very appropriate manner: through the Twitter feed GovTwit.
Here are just a handful of Twitter feeds from Steve Lunceford’s GovTwit Directory, along with some of their recent posts.
- The White House
- DTV! “The Transition is in progress…” If you have an analog TV, get a converter or new TV. Converter coupons: http://dtv.gov
- State Dept. Q of the Week: What Will Promote Understanding Between U.S. and Muslim Communities Worldwide? http://bit.ly/5oJ4u
- Welcoming the Steelers: Behind the Scenes: A follow-up video to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ visit last month, get a.. http://tinyurl.com/m8hkdz
- The Library of Congress
- A staff-selected "sampling of flavors" from the Nat’l Photo Company Collection. http://is.gd/Zbt8
- For Posterity … and for You, Too: The Library of Congress has released the 25 recordings selected this yea.. http://snipurl.com/jxmpx
- Webcast of Frank Abagnale of "Catch Me If You Can" fame, about spotting forgeries, is now online. Very entertaining. http://is.gd/Z3jt
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)
- We are shocked and grieving over the loss of Officer Stephen Johns, who died heroically today in the line of duty. http://bit.ly/uhAgb
- World is Witness> Joseph Kony’s Revenge in Faradje: The pilot dips the plane’s w.. http://tinyurl.com/mrlw4o
- Boston event tom., 6/10, 7pm. Archivist to discuss hist. detective work behind rare album of photos of SS at Auschwitz http://bit.ly/xKwYw
- National Center for Preservation Technology & Training (NCPTT)
- The Application and Preparation of Limewash video has been released on YouTube with closed captioning http://bit.ly/VOOP8
- Care for ornamental cast or wrought iron? Check out this workshop in NOLA on June 18-19: http://snurl.com/dy7yt
- National Park Service Geophysics Training at Los Adaes: David W. Morgan, Chief of Archeology and Collections at .. http://tinyurl.com/n88dn9
- National Park Service – Yosemite National Park
- Surprise Bus Inspections Conducted in Yosemite National Park http://tinyurl.com/ltdj88
- Yosemite National Park Celebrates the 130th Anniversary of the Yosemite Chapel http://tinyurl.com/pyzdpq
- Yosemite National Park Invites the Public to Community Safety Day http://tinyurl.com/ps2p5n
Comment:
Looking at what is happening on Twitter in regard to the Iranian situation, one has to start wondering: how will we as historians capture the shift in information sharing in today’s world? This is particularly important in light of how Twitter posts will disappear so quickly, just as they appear quickly. How will we capture that documentation? I think this is something we as a community ought to start thinking about.
— Karen Miller Jun 15, 04:07 PM