As a “man of a certain age,” I am not exactly a natural for Twitter. But when FH was in the process of putting together House of Tweets – our study of the use of Twitter by Members of Parliament – I became positively hooked on it.
Anyone who follows @vonHerff, will know that my addiction to twitter is not because I use this forum to share insider tips on what’s happening in the Harper government. For that, you need to actually contact one of our remarkably insightful consultants at Fleishman-Hillard directly.
No, for me and others in the business of public policy and public affairs, Twitter provides an incredible stream of information and insight into key Ottawa media, public policy players and others who set the agenda or at least purport to know a lot about it. These people are sometimes unfairly called the chattering classes, but for those interested in what is actually being said about the nation’s agenda and what arguments are springing up around it, there are 10 tweeters that I recommend you pay close attention to (I have included the @sign for neophytes like me):
- @kady: CBC’s Kady O’Malley, who is probably Ottawa’s preeminent political blogger
- @rosiebarton: CBC reporter Rosemary Barton, who hosts Power and Politics and has a wonderfully wry sense of humour
- @susandelacourt: Toronto Star’s Susan Delacourt, who along with O’Malley and Barton is one of the most prolific tweeters on the Hill.
- @acoyne: Maclean’s National Editor Andrew Coyne (and CBC “At Issue” panel member), whose twitter feed often includes his personal commentary on the issues of the day, as well as links to articles he believes deserve attention.
- @TonyClement_MP: MP Tony Clement, the Industry Minister who has been a recent adopter of twitter and when he tabled amendments to the Copyright Act he used it to answer questions from those following his tweets
- @davidakin: recently installed at Sun Media, David Akin, not only provides good perspective on issues but also has a pipeline into the government on internal moves
- @KoryTeneycke: Quebecor Media Inc.’s Kory Teneycke was formerly PM Harper’s Communications Director and offers a flavor of the Conservative perspective on issues (as well as a hard-edged version of PMO talking points)
- @InklessPW: Maclean’s Paul Wells has some of the most provocative insights into developments in Ottawa and beyond
- @rickmercer: host of the Mercer Report, Rick Mercer, is mostly an entertainer but his refreshing take on national politics often capture the mood of discussions in media circles
- @lobbywatcher: this site shares publicly available entries from the Lobbyist Registry that reveal which companies met with which Cabinet Ministers
There’s no question that Ottawa twitter can sometimes venture into ephemera, inside baseball and (lately) a lot of commentary about the weather. But mostly these tweeters offer funny, intelligent and insightful perspective on what everyone’s favourite @kady calls the Orders of the Day. Tune in – nothing will give you a better sense of the pulse of Ottawa.
And, yes, there is a pulse.
