Author Archive
Business - Written Friday, May 1, 2009 by Alex Marshall - 3 Comments
Researching Government 2.0 on Twitter
In light of Jeff and Mike’s recent posts about Twitter, I thought it fitting to explain how I’ve been using Twitter to research Government 2.0.
If you want to follow me, my Twitter name is @A_Marsh. You’ll notice that 3/4 of my posts are very short comments designed to entice followers to click through on links I’ve provided (many of which are in the Wikinomics theme). Essentially, I use Twitter as a gateway to substantive content, a style of Tweeting that Denis blogged about previously.
As far as using Twitter as a research tool, I generally follow other user who also use it as a gateway to more substantive content. For me, Twitter is something like a news condenser, or a filter. I’ve handpicked a series of intelligent users to follow on Twitter, users who filter through the glut of information available on the web, and highlight what they believe to be the most useful and important. If you pick out the right users to follow, it can be akin to having an entire team of researchers working for you, pro-bono and in realtime.
So here’s two examples of how I’ve used Twitter to stay up to date on developments in the world of Government 2.0.
- Participate in the 2009 Brand Communities Survey
- YouTube bleeding cash: Is Google trapped?
- Creative application contests: Engaging developers in the public sphere
- How much cybersecurity is needed to prevent a cyber Katrina?
- Is spec work evil?
- What are they saying in Congress?
- Crowdsourcing on Mobiles: Reporting the Crisis from Madagascar
- Bringing transparency to your browser: Knowmore.org
- Strip of Yonge Street to become a “digital destination”

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