It was only a matter of time before social media’s impact in the marketplace would begin to alter the way executives go about their business in the workplace.
A new study commissioned by LinkedIn however, puts that evolution in some fresh perspective, with a look at how social media platforms are playing an increasing role in how information technology decision makers are making IT decisions. Keep reading →
The heads of state in three-fourths of the nations surveyed around the globe now use Twitter to communicate with followers, nearly twice the number from a year ago, according to a new report from the Digital Policy Council (DPC).
The report evaluated 164 countries (fewer than the 193 recognized by the United Nations) and found that the heads of state in 123 of those countries, or 75%, maintain a Twitter account.
That figure compares to 69 countries in an August 2011 survey, and represents a 93% compound annual growth rate since DPC started tracking the data in 2010.
“For a leader who a short time ago threatened to shut down social media services in London in the wake of rioting, Prime Minister Cameron’s reversal — ‘You’ve got to get with the programme’ — is quite telling,” the report said. Cameron now ranks 23rd on the latest list.
“The sheer popularity that social platforms like Twitter possess make it clear that traditional media channels are no longer adequate or in some cases, even effective. Leaders seek to be where their people are, and are recognizing, more than ever, that the options for communicating with their electorate have been redefined.”
Following are the top 10 heads of states using Twitter, according to the report, based on the number of followers each has attracted:
| 2012 Rank | 2011 Rank | Official (Twitter link) | Country | Followers (Million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
President Barack Obama |
United States | 24.611 |
| 2 | 2 |
President Hugo Chavez |
Venezuela | 3.802 |
| 3 | 11 |
President Abdullah Gul |
Turkey | 2.576 |
| 4 | 4 |
Queen Rania Al Abdullah |
Jordon | 2.459 |
| 5 | 8 |
President Dmitry Medvedev |
Russia | 2.070 |
| 6 | 6 |
President Dilma Rousseff |
Brazil | 1.752 |
| 7 | 9 | President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner | Argentina | 1.461 |
| 8 | 14 |
President Juan Manuel Santos |
Columbia | 1.455 |
| 9 | 5 |
President Enrique Pena Nieto |
Mexico | 1.362 |
| 10 | 12 | Prime Minister & Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohanned bin Rashid Al Maktourn | United Arab Emirates | 1.343 |
Not surprisingly, U.S. President Barack Obama, whose Twitter account dates back to March 5, 2007, has amassed the widest following worldwide of any head of state.
Other early adopters, however, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who began tweeting July 11, 2007, have found only a fraction of the following (Harper had 276,060 followers in the latest ranking.)
Most of the world leaders in the rankings have generally only recently joined the social media revolution in earnest, according to data cataloged in the report, which includes information on the political stability and social media “klout” scores of world leaders.
“As digital activism becomes more intensified, it is often seen as a threat to governments, but an outcome has been the steady increase in the number of heads of state that are using Twitter, and recognizing the benefits of the vehicle to allow for direct interaction with constituents,” the report noted.
The U.S. General Services Administration announced that a key program for approving shared cloud computing security tools has issued the first approved provisional cloud security authorization to Autonomic Resources LLC.
The authorization comes from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Joint Authorization Board, which is comprised of the chief information officers from GSA and the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. Keep reading →
This article, from American Enterprise Institute scholar and frequent AOL contributor MacKenzie Eaglen, looks at the increasingly likely consequences of the fiscal cliff. It originally appeared as part of an Breaking Defense series of 2013 forecasts. Keep reading →
The District of Columbia’s Public Service Commission recently joined the emerging ranks metropolitan government agencies delivering service information to the public via a mobile application.
“The PSC is proud to be one of the first public utility commissions in the country to provide a mobile app to consumers,” said Chairman, Betty Ann Kane. “With a single tap of the finger, District residents will have faster and easier access to information that impacts their daily lives.” Keep reading →
While President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner continue to push ahead with negotiations over federal revenues and spending, federal workers have also been offering up ideas to curb government spending.
And the ideas of four federal employees are up for a public vote this week, the White House announced today. (The public has until noon, Dec. 21, to vote.) Keep reading →
If federal CIO’s are judged by how well they lead by example in the social media revolution, then a new study suggests not enough of them are walking the talk.
An analysis of 31 federal chief information officers, just released by MeriTalk, reports that certain federal CIOs are much more engaged than others on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep reading →
Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive John Chambers is expected to announce plans today for transitioning the networking giant into a company focused primarily on supplying data analysis systems and services to government and large businesses.
“The days of the boxes are over,” said Chambers in a just-published interview with The New York Times.
Cisco has successfully navigated numerous technology transitions with a steady strategy of acquisitions that have helped expand Cisco’s digital presence well beyond the router boxes that keep Internet traffic flowing.
Chambers, however, said that the global revolution in mobile devices and sensors, and the routing of massive volumes of data to centralized processing centers, is altering the landscape and the economic equations for leading technology companies, such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Oracle, as well as for Cisco.
“Transitions are happening at a faster pace than ever before,” he told The New York Times.
Chambers has been a relentless champion for helping large organizations harness information technology to work more effectively, including his own.
But the commoditization and consumerization of IT has put pressure on Cisco to reorganize for the next wave of technology demands. Chambers is betting much of that demand will come from finding smarter ways of capturing and analyzing the data that rides on much of the equipment Cisco originally produced and installed.
As part of that strategy, Cisco is reorganizing with the goal of concentrating on helping government and large businesses handle projects such as designing and managing systems to handle traffic or clean water across entire cities more efficiently.
He also layed out a vision for working with government officials and civil engineering companies to create networks of sensors and data analysis systems that would help organizations set up more efficient mining, manufacturing and distribution systems.
How successful Cisco will be in shifting to a software-driven business model remains more than a casual question in light of the turmoil that IBM endured, and more recently HP continues to face following its $11 billion purchase of Autonomy.
Chambers responds to those and other concerns in the article, saying Cisco’s talent, product and corporate connections give them closer access to the needs of their customers. Read the original article here. Keep reading →
The U.S. Senate today joined the House in approving a bill that would postpone a requirement to post to the Internet financial disclosure forms of as many as 28,000 senior level federal employees. The House approved the measure on Dec. 5.
The passage of H.R. 6634 effectively delays the current deadline for posting the financial data of senior federal employees, from Dec. 8, 2012, until April 15, 2013. Keep reading →
The relatively rapid adoption by government organizations of big data analytics, cloud computing social business and mobility is expected to propel the use of “smart strategies” in 2013, according to a leading research group.
IDG Government Insights, in its annual “Top 10 Predictions” for government information technology in 2013, predicted as a result that more than 40% of U.S. local governments will be in research and evaluation stage for “smart city” pilots/projects and 50% will begin implementation in 2013. Keep reading →