Can 140 words work like weapon? According to a group of 29 people- Yes they can! I’m talking about Twitter- making huge noise in the microblogging industry and is much flaunted topic among academicians like Clayton, McAfee, etc. They believe that Twitter has disruptive abilities and it can come out with something new. Well, Twitter claims: “Active users have increased 900% in a year”!

Tweeting affects daily habits and may become a part of life; but why? Have you seen people messaging on phone? They are ubiquitous and everybody likes tweeting as it is cheap. Now shift the messaging power from phone to blog and with help of Web2.0 start exploiting the entire chain. Reach out 100s of users or a bunch of people you want to and reap solid benefits of connectivity.

Let’s see what others have to say:

1. Last May I used the Twitter micro-blogging service and made a post every time I managed my Diabetes

2. Its this mixture of blogging, RSS and social networking that makes twitter so appealing

3. Twitter as news source: Short and effective say- former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated!!

4. Updates from all over the world: Chinese blogger Zhou “Zhuola” Shuguang used Twitter to write from the Olympic games in Beijing.

5. Out of control: Reality Check: Terrorists Using Twitter?

6. Customer Service 2.0

7. Politics 2.0

I have mixed feelings for a tool like this now. May be this technology is catching up like fire, but there are sad reactions  when it comes to tweeting. Jason Calacanis, CEO of Mahalo, claimed Yammer   as “The best communication and productivity tool available in the market today.” Well no one wants to write huge mails for quick communication! So, you need something fast and optimal. Microblogging helps. It helps new generation kids to keep up and form fast networks.

Coming to the crux. How can Govt. use it?

1. Get quick updates- Network with people in common network in govt pool. I call it Tribalisation!

2. Provide freedom of expression- Everyone can explain in few words- they’ll be crisp and expressive.

3. Understand what people really want- Example of Politics 2.0, shown above, clearly highlight this point.

4. Get deep and know the problem- People have started speaking on a network. Now Govt. should be able to track whether people are getting infected with cold, fire, water shortage, traffic break down, riots, etc.

In short GOVT. CAN BE PROACTIVE before everything falls apart.. This is not an advertisement for microblogging, but we can definitely exploit a powerful tech tool to uncover many problems.. Think about it.

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