Clean Energy Trust, with the support of United Airlines, The Boeing Company and Honeywell UOP, has created a $50,000 Aviation Energy Prize for developing alternatives to traditional fossil fuels for airline and airport operations. The prize will be awarded to a team of entrepreneurs from the Midwest at the 2014 Clean Energy Challenge on April… Keep reading →
Innovation
Clean Energy Trust Announces $50,000 Aviation Energy Prize to Fund Advancements in Sustainable Air Travel
By businesswireThe American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) today announced the plenary session speakers and program agenda for the 23nd Annual Executive Leadership Conference (ELC), the premier event in the government information technology (IT) community. This year’s theme of “Driving Results in a 21st Century Government” will focus on the transformational changes that… Keep reading →
The Department of Veterans Affairs progress toward a paperless records system was halted Oct. 8 when the partial federal government shutdown stopped all software development by the department. The latest negative impact on the nation’s veterans prompted a strong response from American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger. On Oct. 8, VA was forced to furlough… Keep reading →
By Doug Miller, SafeGov.org Many of us have been following a legal case being fought in California in which 10 plaintiffs are suing Google over its practice of scanning the content of private Gmail messages for the purposes of showing ads related to the content of the user’s email. The plaintiffs and many privacy organizations… Keep reading →
Oregon Department of Justice Boosts Efficiencies, Response Times and Reduces Paper with New Workflow System
By Breaking Gov
The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), led by the state’s Attorney General, is responsible for general counsel and supervision of all civil actions and legal proceedings in which the state is a part or has an interest. Headquartered in Salem, the Department is further responsible for the operation of a number of program areas designated… Keep reading →
Improving Background Investigations Requires Full Lifecycle Perspective
By Growson Edwards and Paul Wilkinson
The federal government has earned praise the past few years for making improvements to the security clearance process. In fact, at a Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee hearing in June 2012, it was reported that the time for initial investigations was down to 44 days, from 189 in 2005. Keep reading →
With the cost of lighting accounting for more than a third of the energy bills at most federal facilities, officials at the General Services Administration know that it will take more than upgrading to newer florescent and LED lighting to make government buildings more energy efficient. It also means finding ways to efficiently install an array of new and smarter technologies.
The stakes, however, are significant. GSA boasts a portfolio of federal buildings that amounts to nearly 10,000 assets. The upshot, though, is that those buildings offer a rich laboratory to evaluate green technologies. 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.
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 →
Last week, I wrote about 3D Printing Plus and the creation of a market place that I call “Products-on-Demand” (hereafter, “PonD”.) This week, I’m going to write about what that market will look like in, say, five years when it’s much further along. Specifically, I’m going to explore what the technology will enable (with emphasis on some of the other trends I’ve detailed: always-on connected computers and networked sensors); how people and companies will use that technology for personal and professional ends; and government’s role in fostering and participating in the space.
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This is the fifth in a six-part series examining how innovation and social media are changing how agencies operate, originally published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.
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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.