Last week, cyberspace was all a-Twitter about the idea that Twitter, the real-time short messaging service, was banned at the White House. Read Write Web said that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs casually mentioned on CNN that Twitter was blocked on official White House computers and that “[s]ome cynics will say this is great news, that taxpayer money isn’t being wasted on using Twitter on White House time.” But they also argued for the importance of social networking in this day and age of internet speed, especially to the Obama administration, whose presence in the White House can be largely attributed to their shrewd use of new media.Â
But a few days later, TechCrunch explained that there isn’t actually a blanket ban on Twitter from the White House. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told the press that for reasons of security and record keeping, Twitter is blocked from some computers, but posts can be made via HootSuite and staff members are allowed to tweet from their own devices. Official White House tweets are handled by the new media team, while President Obama’s account is apparently handled by the Democratic National Committee.
Then TechCrunch divulged that the White House wants us to know that it likes Twitter, and that the Deputy Press Secretary has a good sense of humor and seems to have a good grasp on the medium, having said “I have an account that I follow on my personal blackberry but I don’t actually twitter myself. It’s more to keep track of what Diddy and Perez Hilton are up to all day.”
Tags: Internet Speed, Real-Time, Twitter