5382 Words to Describe 140 Characters

True to form the government has encased microblogging in red tape by producing a 5382 word, 20 page guide to its best usage for government agencies.  The document, which would take 259 separate tweets if distributing using twitter, was produced by the department of business’ head of corporate digital channels, and even he is said to have admitted it might be “a bit over the top”!

I cant quite imagine what the document says but Im sure it is a thrilling read!  According the the Guardian online its recommendations include:

“• Human: He warns that Twitter users can be hostile to the “over-use of automation” – such as RSS feeds – and to the regurgitation of press release headlines: “While corporate in message, the tone of our Twitter channel must therefore be informal spoken English, human-edited and for the most part written/paraphrased for the channel.”

• Frequent: a minimum of two and maximum of 10 tweets per working day, with a minimum gap of 30 minutes between tweets to avoid flooding followers’ Twitter streams. (Not counting @replies or live coverage of a crisis/event.) Downing Street spends 20 minutes on its Twitter stream with two-three tweets a day plus a few replies, five-six tweets a day in total.

• Timely: in keeping with the “zeitgeist” feel of Twitter, official tweets should be about issues of relevance today or events coming soon.

• Credible: while tweets may occasionally be “fun”, their relationship to departmental objectives must be defensible.”

<sarcasm>Wow, groundbreaking stuff.</sarcasm>

I suppose if nothing else it shows that the government recognises Twitter’s uses and if the oldest and most traditional of establishments can do so, then it bodes well for the future of the micro-blogging platform.  Much has been said about the take up of Twitter by businesses, and more and more agencies are queueing up to advise companies on how to engage users.

Is this a big day for Twitter? The British government registering them as a respected and worthwhile communication channel, or is it just somebody trying to justify their job title, salary, and dare I say it expenses!  You decide.

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