In recent years we’ve seen a rise in government on YouTube, from the United States to the UK, Israel and beyond.  More and more politicians are making their way onto YouTube, to open up a new channel of conversation with their constituents, and the latest to jump on this bandwagon is Germany.  Yesterday, the German federal government launched their new YouTube channel, Bundesregierung, and announced that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be answering citizens’ questions via YouTube next month [...]

Read More: German Government Launches YouTube Channel, Lets Citizens Interview Chancellor

It’s an order the police probably don’t hear every day: use more social media. However, in China, the police are being told just that.


Read More: Chinese Government to Police: Use More Social Media

An analysis of traffic to federal Government sites showed a decline over the past year even though attempts were made by the government to be digital-friendly. The study comes from a leading researcher in the digital world — comScore.


Read More: Is Government Losing Followers?

When the British government met with social media giants Twitter, RIM, and Facebook in August, the matter seemed closed. Apparently not. The UK government questioned the media giants again this week.


Read More: Apparently the Fat Lady Never Sang: Social Media Faces Questions from British Government, Again

TellMyGov.com just released a free iPhone app that has all the features available on its namesake website, including chat, forums, messages, and a wall. With the new app, users can have their voices heard where ever they go.


Read More: Need a Mobile App to Discuss Government Issues?

Back in May, we reported that the UK government was developing a single log-in system that would work across all its websites, such as HMRC and DVLA. It is designed to encourage uptake of its public sector services online.It was reported at the time that the government was working with a number of private companies that already hold personal consumer data, such as Visa, which would potentially allow users to sign-in with their credit card details. Another option could have been Facebook, given t [...]

Read More: UK government doesn't trust Facebook with its new Digital ID system

So, it was all for nothing? After weeks of speculation that the U.K government would ask social media sites to participate in shutdowns during times of crisis, the government seeks no special powers.


Read More: UK Government Does Not Seek Powers To Shut Down Social Media

Following yesterday's meeting with the UK Home Secretary and other key members of the government and police force, Twitter, Facebook and Research in Motion (RIM) didn't give too much away in terms of the specifics of the discussions.It was revealed that the subject of placing restrictions on social networks wasn't on the agenda. The focus of the meeting was very much geared towards finding ways to improve how the authorities engage with social networking services, as well as how social networks [...]

Read More: Compulsory usage of real names on Twitter was discussed at UK government riot meeting

Following yesterday's meeting with the UK Home Secretary and other key members of the government and police force, Twitter, Facebook and Research in Motion (RIM) didn't give too much away in terms of the specifics of the discussions.It was revealed that the subject of placing restrictions on social networks wasn't on the agenda. The focus of the meeting was very much geared towards finding ways to improve how the authorities engage with social networking services, as well as how social networks [...]

Read More: Compulsory usage of real names on Twitter was discussed at UK government riot meeting

Twitter and Facebook have officially responded after today's meeting with the UK Home Secretary Theresa May, over the role social media played in the recent riots that swept across the country. A Twitter spokesperson told The Next Web:

“Governments and law enforcement agencies around the world use Twitter to engage in open, public communications with citizens. We’ve heard from many that Twitter is an effective way to distribute crucial updates and dispel rumors in times of crisis or e [...]

Read More: Twitter & Facebook say that restrictions weren't discussed at UK government ...

Twitter and Facebook have officially responded after today's meeting with the UK Home Secretary Theresa May, over the role social media played in the recent riots that swept across the country. A Twitter spokesperson told The Next Web:

“Governments and law enforcement agencies around the world use Twitter to engage in open, public communications with citizens. We’ve heard from many that Twitter is an effective way to distribute crucial updates and dispel rumors in times of crisis or e [...]

Read More: Twitter & Facebook say that restrictions weren't discussed at UK government ...

If White House town hall meetings via Twitter and Facebook weren't proof enough that we're moving well into the Gov 2.0 era here in the US, then this might help sway your opinion. The Department of Homeland Security, seeing massively clogged telephone connections on the East cosat following a Virginia earthquake, is encouraging the use of social media to contact friends and family.It's also interesting to note that the DHS didn't wait to put a release out on typical news channels, but instead ch [...]

Read More: Following quake, US Government urges citizens to use social media for contact

This blog post is a report being submitted for Zoho, makers of the Zoho office productivity suite which includes Zoho CRM. Behavioral advertising is the practice of third party sites that track your web surfing behavior as you travel from one website to another, and then serve you relevant ads based on that cross-site surfing [...]

Read More: Why is the Federal government regulating behavioral advertising?

Twitter has confirmed that it will meet with the UK Home Secretary on Thursday, after being called in for discussions over the role it played in the recent riots that blighted many parts of the country.We reported last Friday that the UK government had finally set a date for the meeting with the major social networks, after promising to do so at an emergency meeting earlier this month.With the date set for Thursday, 25th of August, only Facebook had initially confirmed that it was attending. But [...]

Read More: Confirmed: Twitter will meet with the UK government for riot talks

Following the riots that plagued London and other English cities two weeks ago, the UK government announced it would meet with the major social networks to discuss their responsibilities in terms of not fueling the organization of criminal activity. And now they've set a date for this meeting, reports the BBC.On Thursday 25th of August, Facebook, Twitter and Research in Motion (RIM) have been called to a meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May, but only Facebook has thus far confirmed that it wi [...]

Read More: UK government sets a date for riot talks with Facebook, Twitter and RIM

Was it only a matter of time? British government considers banning social media during “social unrest”.


Read More: Can British Government Ban Social Media During Crisis?

It's been a chaotic week in London and many other parts of England.As the riots have mostly settled down for now, the police are focusing their efforts on catching up with the criminals and even naming and shaming them on the same social networks that were supposedly used to coordinate the riots in the first place. Oh, the irony.As the dust settles on what has been a crazy week across the UK, serious questions are now being asked – namely, what the hell just happened there? And more import [...]

Read More: Why the UK Government won't clamp down on social networks

So remember that one time when RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis kind of freaked out during a BBC interview. The fact that he flaked on the interview kind of overshadowed the reasons why he started freaking out in the first place — India. The Indian government has been tightening its control over social media and other forms of communication within the country amidst the rising threat of terrorism, RIM included. But the government is now looking to monitor communication on two of the most popular [...]

Read More: Indian Government Wants To Monitor Twitter And Facebook, Maybe Google And Skype Too

Unisys has been commissioned by the Hong Kong Government's Efficiency Unit to help redesign its Youth Portal using public social networks and new mobile computing capabilities to better engage with Hong Kong's young people.


Read More: Hong Kong Government Uses Social Media to Connect with Young People