Back in 2007, when I first heard about Twitter, I remember thinking that it was just a copy of Facebook statuses and wondering, why would anyone want to use it? I finally got on board with Twitter last year after hearing people on my favorite podcasts rave about it and seeing that even Barack Obama had a Twitter. The fact that President Obama still has the most followers on Twitter, even though he has only posted two updates since Election Day, shows that Twitter is changing not only the way people stay informed about their favorite people, but also the way people stay informed about what's going on in our government.
Lots of people started using Twitter in 2008, but it's been surprising to me to see users like @whitehouse_gov, @HouseFloor, @USSupremeCourt, and even @NationalDebt. When I was a kid, I always thought of the government as a bunch of people who sat up on a hill and simply made decisions for the country. I thought no one really knew what went on or what all went into what was being passed, and everyone just smiled and assumed all was well. As I got older, I realized that not as many people smile as I thought, and a lot of people feel pretty cynical about government. Twitter still hasn't gone mainstream, but it's encouraging that our government is embracing these new services (along with YouTube as well).
Whether or not this new ease of access to information will make much of a difference, I'm not sure. However, I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that the information is out there, and I think I'll keep an eye on @HouseFloor and maybe write to my representative a little more often.
Lots of people started using Twitter in 2008, but it's been surprising to me to see users like @whitehouse_gov, @HouseFloor, @USSupremeCourt, and even @NationalDebt. When I was a kid, I always thought of the government as a bunch of people who sat up on a hill and simply made decisions for the country. I thought no one really knew what went on or what all went into what was being passed, and everyone just smiled and assumed all was well. As I got older, I realized that not as many people smile as I thought, and a lot of people feel pretty cynical about government. Twitter still hasn't gone mainstream, but it's encouraging that our government is embracing these new services (along with YouTube as well).
Whether or not this new ease of access to information will make much of a difference, I'm not sure. However, I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that the information is out there, and I think I'll keep an eye on @HouseFloor and maybe write to my representative a little more often.
I'm finding that some progressive companies are even putting a high priority on their current and potential employees social networking in the workplace. It is the new standard for relationship building.