Sunday, September 13, 2009

Our Twitter Minister

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/enjoy-uncensored-twitter-time-20090911-fkp1.html

Seems good old Kevin is racking up the Twitter followers, hitting 500 000 mark, despite his tweets being as boring as his pre-written parliamentary speeches. He is now so popular new tweeters are directed to follow him when they start their account. In fact a large percentage of his cloud of fans comes from Hispanic regions and the U.S.A. Have we elected a Twitter tart as PM?

I would suggest not every single little tweet comes straight from Mr Rudd but possibly from his army of media advisors, but that is not important. The part that really intrigued me in this article was the Twitter activity during Parliament. Is it right for parliamentarians to be Tweeting from their Blackberries when they are supposed to be shaping the future of our country? Does this activity actually reveal how little influence debating with the opposition has on policy? Or does is, as this article hints at, allow for a concerned citizen to tweet a parliamentarian who can then raise the question in the house setting up a new corridor of communication between the government and its constituency?

Well you tell me what you think?