Downing Street on Twitter, Good Idea?

I got a new follower on my Twitter on Friday: Downing Street.

When I posted this screengrab on Flickr, one of the coolest chicks I know, pointed out two things of interest.

One was an article on PDA, a Guardian tech blog, in which the author wonders how okay it is for organizations to use Twitter as a newswire channel.

I think it is.

Does the trend match the medium?

Obviously, we still have to wait and see how much of a trend this actually is and whether it will catch on. Twitter has a few functions apart from the initial “What are you doing” bit. Ranting, venting and chit-chatting are a few of them.

In many ways, then, and to many users, Twitter communication is often very much a phatic one, not an informative one. It may not always be in the best interest of companies or organizations to start using Twitter for that.

If they do, though, they have to understand what it is they want out of it and, especially, how the medium works.

It was the same with blogging proper. At first, only a fringe in-crowd blogged. Then you and I got blogs, followed by everyone we know.

Meanwhile, companies and organizations (and the Evil Spammers) discovered the ROI on blogging and now even a Brussels landmark such as The Atomium has one.

How to do it right

No one has to read blogs or subscribe to them. The same goes for Twitter.

And if you insist on subscribing to a spammy blog or a creepy twitterer, and then complain how you hate their constant nagging or endless updates, you’re stupid.

That said, the Guardian article does hit on two issues: with Twitter it’s nice to know who is doing the tweeting exactly, and unless that’s TechCrunch or the recently popular Tweetburner, you can’t be sure.

Secondly, your tweets shouldn’t become a replacement for RSS, which in a way has already turned into a form of bacn: often interesting but not just right now.

So, @DowningStreet, tell us who you are and keep things worth our while. Know we’re a different audience. Make sure any “news” you push our way has that sense of immediacy we’ve come to know and love over at Twitter.

If you, and others, keep that in mind, get personal with us (can you?) I suppose this will work. If not, the unfollows will hit you harder than you’d held possible and the, essentially great, idea will founder.

Oh, and the second thing Cas points out on Flickr? How do they find and choose people to follow? Well, I suppose they just thought I was cool too?

Tags: downing street, followers, twitter