In response to their worsening financial situation, the Islamic State is continuing to increase, taxes and fines throughout its territory and in some cases introducing new ones. New analysis released today by IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight, reveals new information on the group’s centralized and pervasive taxation… Keep reading →
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Skipstone, LLC is proud to announce AskLearnVote.com in order to provide a better way for voters to research candidate’s positions on issues that are important to the individual voter. Because AskLearnVote.com is powered by Skipstone’s patent-pending Interactive Video Platform, voters will be able to hear a candidate’s presentation of their overall message, and during that… Keep reading →
As of April 10, 2014, law enforcement professionals across the nation will have a powerful new tool that will change the way they and the public respond to suspected terrorist and criminal acts and large-scale emergencies. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has partnered with CitizenGlobal, a leading eyewitness video and photo platform, to… Keep reading →
Today, Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com) debuts Katie Couric’s interview with former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The story is available at: https://news.yahoo.com/katie-couric-and-michael-bloomberg-221417585.html In his first major interview since leaving office in December, Bloomberg, the U.N.’s newly appointed Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, strongly defended his administration against critics. Among the wide-ranging topics… Keep reading →
The Weather Channel© will continue its efforts to keep the public safe during severe weather by promoting new standardized hashtags developed by the White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). These hashtags – #GotFuel #NoFuel and #PowerLineDown – will enable local citizens to report important emergency information, such… Keep reading →
The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Donor Alliance, and Colorado.gov announced a fourth win today for their joint “Save Time. Renew Online!” multimedia campaign, which has been selected by The International Academy of Visual Arts to receive a 2013 W3 Award. The “Save Time. Renew Online!” campaign was created in 2011 in an effort… Keep reading →
Shrinking budgets and policy crackdowns are changing the landscape for federal decision makers and influencers who gather information and stay abreast of new technology via industry events. Government contractors have always seen events and trade shows as valuable opportunities to connect with federal customers, but this is poised to change in 2013.
According to a recent poll conducted by Market Connections, Inc., 38% of federal employees plan to attend fewer educational and trade events in 2013 compared to last year. Meanwhile, 29% of the 400 respondents reflect the ongoing uncertainty within government agencies about the state of budgets and priorities, saying they don’t know their event attendance plans, even as the federal fiscal year enters its second quarter. Keep reading →
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.
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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.