Monday, January 26, 2009

On UPI: Israel Tweets the Gaza Conflict

Late last month the Israeli Consulate in New York held a Twitter-based news conference, inviting anyone to ask questions of the Israeli government about the conflict in Gaza. While activity around the conference blossomed, President-elect Barack Obama's Twitter account has had little to say since Election Day last year.

The conflict in Gaza has become a growing international issue. Israel only recently sent in ground troops as part of Operation Cast Lead, while Hamas's missiles have slowly made their way deeper into Israel than ever before. Though the Israeli government has declared a cease-fire for the operation, the conflict -- and the conversation surrounding it -- has continued. The repercussions have become global as supporters on both sides broadcast their sentiments publicly over the Internet.

Since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, Twitter, a micro blogging service that limits posts to 140 characters, has been a major forum for users to constantly debate and report on the conflict, marking relevant comments with the hash-tag #gaza in order to indicate the ongoing conversation. David Saranga, the consul of media and public affairs for the Israeli Consulate in New York, took notice of the conversation.

 

Read the rest of my article about Twitter’s potential to change the face of public policy at UPI.com.

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