What is the Harper Government's Twitter Policy?

The British government is making an effort to engage the public with Twitter and is implementing a government-wide policy for its use. This is something we should expect from our Canadian government.

In a 20 page document, the British government's guidelines for Twitter use include:

• post should be "human and credible"
• use "informal spoken English"
• post 2-10 tweets a day
• used for any type government communications
• expect Twitter to play a role in emergency crises
• warns against using Twitter simply to convey campaign messages
• not follow anyone who does not follow you already (to avoid a Big Brother image)
• accept that there will be criticism (my emphasis)
  

It is important to note that, in stark contrast to Canadian MPs who actually block members of the public, the British government accepts criticism as a condition of using Twitter.

Additionally, if the current Canadian government chooses to use Twitter for communicating emergency information during a crisis, they have already compromised this channel by blocking members of the public.

Prime Minister Harper pledged an 'open and transparent government' however it seems with the provision that his government must like what it hears from the public first.

Reference links:
British Government Twitter Policy: link
Canadian MPs who block the public: link
Globe & Mail article: link

Political Twitter Blockers List

"No one deserves satire more than those who seek to avoid it." - anonymous

This is a weekly list of public figures who use the social media service Twitter as an official public information channel but deliberately block certain members of the public from following updates:

@minjk	The Honourable Jason Kenny, Minister of Immigration, elected Member of Parliament of the Government of Canada for Calgary Southeast. Member, Conservative Party of Canada
@brownbarrie	Patrick Brown, elected Member of Parliament of the Government of Canada for Barrie. Member, Conservative Party of Canada
@davidakin	David Akin, Member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery, Reporter for Canwest News Service & online media personality

If you are blocked from following a public figure's Twitter account, you are encouraged to tweet their Twitter username together with the #mygovtblocks hash tag.


What is 'blocking' on Twitter?

Blocking is the deliberate action taken by one Twitter user to prevent their updates from showing automatically in another Twitter user's aggregation of followed user updates, known as a 'Timeline'.

It is important to note that there is nothing in Twitter's Terms Of Service preventing public figures from blocking the public from following an official government account.


So what's the big deal?

Caricature, regardless of one's taste for it, is a sign of a healthy and robust democracy. In many countries political satire of the government is a criminal offence, sometimes even punishable by death, but very thankfully we live in Canada where if you make your living in the public square are privileged to be fair target of parody.

However, for elected Members of Parliament to deliberately impede public access to government information in response to simple satire reveals public figures who have either not the thick skin necessary for work in the public square or who put political ideologies before public service and transparency. Perhaps both.


Reference links:
Twitter's help documentation on blocking: link
Twitter's Terms Of Service: link