Just last week, HubSpot, a Boston-based Internet marketing firm, released a report [1] which stated that micro-blogging platform Twitter [2] gains 5,000 to 10,000 new users every day. Given the recent use of Twitter in discussing major events such as the recent attacks in Mumbai [3] and Gaza [4], it is unsurprising to see such growth.
Governments have also been using Twitter for quite some time. The U.S. government operates a number of Twitter accounts [5] (including @USAGov [6], @TheWhiteHouse [7], and @NASA [8]), with other countries’ governments sure to follow. This afternoon, in the midst of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the Israeli Consulate of New York set up a Twitter account. Its first tweet read [9]:
[9]
Shortly afterward, the consulate announced its intent to hold a citizens “press” conference on Tuesday, December 30, from 1-3 pm EST:
The conference presents a unique, never-before-seen opportunity for a government to create an open platform for global discussion during a time of crisis. Twitter users are able to send questions during the conference, and follow the discussion by using the #AskIsrael [10] hashtag. The face behind the consulate's Twitter account is David Saranga [11], Consul for Media and Public Affairs for Israel in the United States.
Twitter users have already begun to ask questions. gyokusai [12], based in Germany, asks:
[12]
travmavg queries [13]:
Details about the press conference can be found on the consulate's blog [14].