2013 update Australian government Twitter list expanded to 553 accounts

I've been working away in my (copious) spare time to update the list of Australian government Twitter accounts - representing all levels of government.

It has now reached 553 accounts - which has also forced me to start a new Twitter list due to their 500 follower limit.

You can view the spreadsheet embedded below, or access it at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ap1exl80wB8OdHNKVmQ5RVlvQWpibDAxNHkzcU1nV2c&hl=en

You can subscribe to the listed australian government accounts using my Twitter lists:
Australian-gov-tweets (500 accounts)
Australian-gov-tweets2 (my new 'overflow' list)

I haven't yet created by level or by state lists yet - but will do so when I have time.

If you're aware of any Australian government Twitter accounts I've missed, or if your agency starts a new account, please update the list directly, or let me know so I can update it (my main issue in maintaining the list's currency is that government agencies are poor at telling people about their new social media accounts).

Please look at the Stats and By population tabs in the spreadsheet for the list to see how many accounts there are by category, state and government level, how long the average Twitter account name is, when accounts were started and the most popular months for starting accounts, plus the ratio of Twitter accounts to population at state and national levels.

Mapping Australian Twitter discussions

Associate Professor Axel Bruns, who has previously done marvelous work mapping Australian blogs and tracking social media activity around the Queensland bushfires, has released his team's latest research on mapping the Australian Twittersphere.

Drawing (slightly paraphrased) from the joint CCI and Queensland University of Technology media release:

With as many as two million Australians now using Twitter to exchange news, views and information, the internet phenomenon has become a focal element in the nation’s social discourse, say Axel and Dr Jean Burgess.

By analysing topics of interest and concern to Australians the researchers built a ‘network map’ showing the connections between different issues and areas. “Just as newspapers have circulation reports and TV has its ratings, it is important to understand the role which new media are playing in our society,” they say.

“The map offers us a completely different way to view Australian society – not by where people live or what job they do, but by how they connect to each other through Twitter,” said Professor Bruns.

“You can use the map to study developments in Australian politics, natural disasters or trends in public thought and opinion,” Dr Burgess says. “It offers us a completely fresh way to view the discourse that is taking place between Australians or different groups.

“It shows there are multiple, overlapping publics, interacting and interweaving in time and space across Australia.”

The map also revealed which Twitter networks are isolated from the Australian ‘mainland’ tending to connect among themselves more than with other networks. These include evangelical groups, cities like Adelaide and Perth, followers of pop stars, and various sports and beer lovers.

The researchers based their map on data from 950,000 Australian Twitter accounts, but say that the national Twitter population is estimated to be as high as 1.8-2 million. The world Twitter population is now thought to be around 200 million – about a quarter that of rival social medium Facebook.

Can social media make a genuine impact on the democratic process?

While in the UK last week I was involved in a number of discussions about whether social media can make a genuine impact on the democratic process.

This reflects similar conversations I've witnessed or been involved with in Australia and in other countries.

This conversation is very important - it helps people involved in the Gov 2.0 space to define, refine and share their ideas and helps people outside the space gain a broader appreciation of the topic.

To encourage further conversation, Delib has set up a global online discussion about social media's impact on democracy.

You can participate - or watch this discussion at: http://www.dialogue-app.com/600


It will remain open for commenting until the end of May and visible after this for people to read and think about.

Guest post: Request for Participation in Research Survey - Current Government use of Twitter in Australia

I've published the following guest post because I think the research Aletha is doing is important and useful for agencies.

Please let the right people in your agency know about it.

Guest post

My name is Aletha and I am a Communications Master's student currently completing a short research project as part of my personal study through Griffith University about the current use of Australian Government Twitter Accounts.

The objectives of this project are to determine how Federal, State and Local governments/agencies within Australia are currently using Twitter to communicate with the Australian public. Mainly the project will focus on:

• determining the reasons governments/agencies are engaging with this new media;
• determining what information government/agencies are using this communication mechanism to display;
• outlining the differences in use between various types of departments/agencies;
• determining to what extent governments/agencies believe it is an effective communication method; and
• discovering what tools governments/agencies are using to measure its effectiveness.

The project will consist of a short survey of approximately 20 short questions relating to the above objectives.

If you manage a Federal/State/Local government/agency Twitter account I would love to hear from you!

Before commencing the survey you must have completed the Informed Consent Template as the results of this survey will be distributed with participants in the hope that the findings may inform government departments and agencies about how others are using Twitter as a communication tool and whether it is effective.

Please contact me at aletha.nightingale@gmail.com if you have not been provided with this form and I can email this to you.

If you have completed this form then please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/useoftwitterausgov to complete the survey.

Data collected via the survey will be de-identified. The only identifiable section of the survey will be an indication of what type of department/agency and whether this is at State or local level. The survey will not identify any specific local areas or states/territories.

If you have any further questions or comments that you wish to raise with me individually please contact me at aletha.nightingale@gmail.com

Thanks again for your time!