Oz civil servants urged to tweet to bridge gap between govt and public

LONDON - Civil servants in Australia have been urged to turn to the Internet and make use of social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook to bridge the gap between the government and the public.

A government-commissioned draft report on new media recommended that embracing the World Wide Web could help boost discussions on ideas and gather feedback.

It said interactive media provided “unprecedented opportunities to open up government decision-making to the community”.

“Online engagement by public servants should be enabled and encouraged,” the Telegraph quoted the reports as saying.

“Robust professional discussion benefits their agencies, their professional development, and the Australian public,” it was added.

The report also explained: “Access to work tools like web-based email, collaborative work spaces and instant messaging create powerful new possibilities for collaboration particularly where collaborators are physically apart.

“Likewise Twitter, Facebook and blogs provide access to professional information and conversation.” (ANI)