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Friday, June 19, 2009

Public bodies can’t manage a Twitter account? WTF?

Neville Hobson just tweeted a link to a news story in the Croydon Guardian about the suspension of a Twitter account. In a nutshell, the Croydon Council had launched a print newspaper for distribution to residents of the town to ensure they received town news distributed principally through press releases. Someone on the staff had set up a Twitter account and then mistakenly sent was was supposed to be a direct message as a regular old tweet for all to see. The tweet was critical of a reporter at the Evening Standard.

The newspaper was instructed to stop using the account as a result.

It was a couple of quotes from the Guardian article that prompted this post. The first one is from “a spokesman”—no other details than that:

It’s the firm belief that the Your Croydon publication needs to concentrate on developing its identity in print, not cyberspace.

Now, I’m a supporter of print and a believer in its value, but this statement still prompted a WTF moment for me. After all, print is a one-way channel and fewer and fewer people rely on print as a means of obtaining their information. It’s startling to hear the representative of any town council suggesting the its interests are best served by ignoring the online world in favor of a print publication. Perhaps the use of the word “cyberspace,” which I hardly hear at all any more, is indicative of just how out of touch this council is.

But it was the second quote that caused my jaw to drop. This one came from Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the Labour group that was quick to condemn the misuse of the twitter account:

How anyone could ever suggest that a public body could control a Twitter account is beyond me.

It would appear that what is beyond Mr. Newman isn’t beyond any number of public bodies—city and town councils in particular. The Oxford City Council is on Twitter. So is the Glasgow City Council, the NewCastle City Council, the New York City Council...the list goes on and on and on.

There are one or two public bodies in the U.S. federal government on Twitter, as well, as evidenced by this list from the amazing Twitter Fan Wiki):

• The White House
• The White House: Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Centers for Disease Control: CDC Emergency and Preparedness
• Corporation for National and Community Service
• Corporation for National and Community Service: AmeriCorps (broadcast only)
• Corporation for National and Community Service: AmeriCorps Alumni (not taxpayer-funded)
• Corporation for National and Community Service: Learn and Serve America
• Corporation for National and Community Service: National Conference on Volunteering and Service
• Corporation for National and Community Service: National Service Learning Clearinghouse
• Corporation for National and Community Service: Resources
• Corporation for National and Community Service: Senior Corps
• Department of Agriculture: Animal Welfare Information Center
• Department of Agriculture:  Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
• Department of Agriculture: Food Safety Information Center
• Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Sanctuary
• Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Ocean Service
• Department of Defense: Joint Staff
• Department of Defense: Maxine Teller, Public Affairs
• Department of Defense: Mark Drapeau, Research Fellow, National Defense University
• Department of Defense: Army & Air Force Exchange Service
• Department of Defense: U.S. Joint Forces Command
• Department of Defense: U.S. European Command (via Ed Buclatin, Captain, US Navy, Director of Public Affairs)
• Department of Defense: U.S. Pacific Command
• Department of Defense: U.S. Southern Command
• Department of Defense: U.S. Central Command
• Department of Defense: Department of Air Force: Air Force Public Affairs Agency
• Department of Defense: Department of Air Force: USAF Band
• Department of Defense: Department of Air Force: Alan Black, Public Affairs
• Department of Defense: Department of Air Force: Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Department of Defense: Department of Army: US Army
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: US Navy
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: US Fleet Forces IA
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: US Pacific Fleet
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Naval Air Forces
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Naval Surface Forces
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: US 7th Fleet
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Navy Personnel Command
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Public Affairs
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: National Naval Aviation Museum
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Hampton Roads Naval Museum
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Navy Office of Information New York
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division: HJ Armstrong, public affairs
• Deparmtent of Defense: Department of Navy: Naval War College
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Navy Exchange
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Submarine Group 2
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Navy Experimental Diving Unit
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: USS Constitution
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: USS Nimitz
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: USS Bonhomme Richard
• Department of Defense: Department of Navy: USS Chafee
• Department of Defense: U.S. Coast Guard (unofficial)
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy: Argonne National Laboratory
• Department of Energy: Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Department of Health & Human Services: AIDS.gov
• Department of Health & Human Services: Food & Drug Administration: FDA Recalls
• Department of Health & Human Services: Healthcare 411
• Department of Health & Human Services: National Institutes of Health: NIH Communications Office
• Department of Health & Human Services: Office of Population Affairs
• Department of Health & Human Services: Office on Women’s Health
• Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency: FEMA In Focus
• Department of Homeland Security: Leadership Journal
• Department of Homeland Security: Transportation Security Administration blog team
• Department of Homeland Security: US Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Department of Housing and Urban Development: Departmental Web Team
• Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of Public Affairs
• Department of the Interior: National Park Service: Brooks Camp at Katmai National Park
• Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Center for Preservation Technology & Training
• Department of the Interior: National Park Service: Yosemite National Park and Yosemite Nature Notes
• Department of State: America.gov
• Department of State: America.gov blogger Michelle Brooks
• Department of State: America.gov Print
• Department of State: Co. Nx. Webchats
• Department of State: Country-specific Information, travel department
• Department of State: Dipnote, official blog feed
• Department of State: Exchange Connect
• Department of State: Global Partnership Center: Jim Thompson, acting director
• Department of State: US Consulate, Munich
• Department of State: US Embassy, Bangkok
• Department of State: US Embassy, Belgrade
• Department of State: US Embassy, Brussels
• Department of State: US Embassy, Kabul
• Department of State: US Embassy, London
• Department of State: US Embassy, Maputo
• Department of State: US Embassy, Ottawa
• Department of State: US Embassy, San Jose
• Department of State: US Embassy, Zambia
• Department of State: US Mission, Geneva
• Department of State: US Mission, New Zealand
• Department of State: US Mission, Vienna
• Environmental Protection Agency: EPA
• Environmental Protection Agency: Greenversations blog
• Environmental Protection Agency: Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: FERC (unofficial feed, not endorsed by FERC)
• General Services Administration: Federal Citizen Information Center
• General Services Administration: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: GovGab
• General Services Administration: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: GobiernoUSA.gov
• General Services Administration: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: USA.gov
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Astrobiology Institute
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: CoLab, advising and consulting on NASA collaboration
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Desert RATS
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Earth Observatory, echoed at Natural Hazard
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: GLAST
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Hubble Space Telescope
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jason-1 project
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Kepler
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Lunar Crater Observation & Sensing Satellite
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: NanoSail-D mission, first solar sail created for nanosatellites
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: NASA EDGE
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: PharmaSat
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: PreSat
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Public Affairs
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Solar Dynamics Observatory
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: HiRISE
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Emma Antunes, web manager
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Erika Vick, Strategic Communications Specialist
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Ames Research Center: Public Affairs Office
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Ames Research Center: Kimberly Ennico, payload scientist
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Goddard Space Flight Center: Linda Cureton, chief information officer
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Goddard Space Flight Center: Ravi Sharma, engineer
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Innovative Partnerships Program: Doug Comstock, director
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Cassini, flying around Saturn
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Earth Vital Signs
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Mars Exploration Rover
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: News, unofficial feed, not endorsed by JPL
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Phoenix Mars Lander
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Langley Research Center: Bil Kleb, computational aerothermodynamist
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Marshall Space Flight Center: Daniel Kanigan, public affairs
• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: Chris Rasmussen, social software knowledge manager/trainer
• National Museum of Health and Medicine (at Walter Reed Army Medical Center): MedicalMuseum & Tim Clarke (public affairs)
• National Science Foundation: NSF
• Office of Personnel Management: OPM
• Securities and Exchange Commission: SEC Investor Education
• Smithsonian Institution
• Smithsonian Institution: National Museum of Natural History
• Smithsonian Institution: National Zoo
• Smithsonian Institution: Resident Associates
• Social Security Administration: Lee Alviar, public affairs specialist in Dallas
• U.S. Agency for International Development (broadcast only)
• U.S. Geological Survey: USGS
• U.S. Geological Survey News: USGSNews
• U.S. Geological Survey Podcasts: USGSPodcasts
• U.S. Geological Survey: Earthquake & Tsunami Warning
• U.S. Geological Survey: Dave Govoni, e-research strategist, paleontologist
• U.S. Intelligence Community: Andrea Baker
• U.S. Intelligence Community: Heather Cox
• U.S. Intelligence Community: John Hale
• U.S. Peace Corps: PeaceCorps (FYI: National Peace Corps Association)
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Business.Gov

You have to wonder just how many things are beyond Mr. Newman. Do politicians even consider research before shooting from the hip?