Speakers include Deloitte’s John Seely Brown, General Keith Alexander from the NSA, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Harvard’s John Clippinger and June Cohen from TED conferences (see full list).

This is a can’t-miss event. So how would you like to attend for FREE?

As a media partner for the event, GovTwit is giving away two passes to Gov 2.0 Summit and entering is super-simple.

Here’s what you need to do to win:
First, if you aren’t already connected to GovTwit on Facebook, hit the Facebook “Like” button in the widget at the right on this page; second, simply follow @GovTwit on Twitter and ReTweet the following message:

I just entered to win a pass to #Gov20 Summit. Follow @GovTwit, the gov social media directory, and RT to win! Rules: http://bit.ly/9Nemoo

That’s all there is to it.

You gotta hurry, though, the contest ends Sept 3, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern! Winners will be selected and notified via Twitter direct message Sept 4, 2010 from random drawing of all participants (which means, stay a follower until that time or you can’t get the DM). Prizes consist of pre-paid registration codes for Gov 2.0 Summit (Two winners to be selected); travel and any expenses not included. Contest is open to everyone, limited to one entry per person.

I’ve recently come across a number of new sites collecting government and/or elected officials’ social presence, and thought a listing of those directories might be useful for others.

If a site has a Twitter ID, it’s tagged at GovTwit.com under Directory; I’ve also created a Twitter List you can follow for the directories. If I’ve missed something, please let me know in comments, and I’ll get it added.

Government Social Media Directories

1. GovTwit (Global)
2. TweetCongress
3. 2Gov
4. Air Force Social Media
5. Ambtenarentweets.nl (Netherlands)
6. California Government & Politics on Twitter
7. Chicago Politicians on Twitter
8. Commonwealth of VA Stay Connected
9. Congressional140
10. Congresspedia
11. Department of Homeland Security Social Media
12. EuropaTweets (EU)
13. Gov2Social
14. Governors on Twitter
15. Govlive
16. GovLuv
17. Govsites (Global)
18. GovSM
19. HearMeSayThis
20. Irish Govt on Twitter (Ireland)
21. Just Tweet It Gov
22. Just Tweet It Politics
23. KamerTweets (Netherlands)
24. Legistalker
25. Local Gov Twitter Lists (US, Canada, Australia)
26. Local Governments Using Twitter
27. Massachusetts Social Media Accounts
28. Mississippi Tweets
29. Montana Tweets
30. National Archives Social Media
31. Navy Social Media List
32. NCSL Legislative Social Media Sites
33. Ohio Social Media
34. Oklahoma Media Center
35. Politico Click Twitter Directory
36. PoliticoTracker Elected Officials
37. Politter (Japan)
38. Politweeter (Sweden)
39. PoliTwitter.ca (Canada)
40. Politwitter.de (Germany)
41. RedCross on Twitter
42. The Hill’s Twitter Room
43. Top 10 Government Twitter Accounts (Uservoice)
44. TweetCommons (Canada)
45. Tweet! CT
46. Tweetfind
47. Tweet Louisiana
48. Tweetminster (UK)
49. TweetMP (Australia)
50. Tweet NCGA
51. Tweet Wisconsin
52. TweetyHall (UK)
53. TwellowTwitica (Portugal)
54. Twitr (Gov)
55. Twitr (politics)
56. Twitteringet (Denmark)
57. Twixdagen (Sweden)
58. UK Government on Twitter (UK)
59. US Government on Twitter
60. Victoria Online (Australia)
61. Wefollow

While there are multiple options (GOVTWT w/various backgrounds or GOVTWIT plain, w/mountains or leaf motif), the two below are the most likely choices. What do you think?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) broke the news through a Tweet yesterday that she would reconvene the House next week to vote on $26 billion in aid to states’ Medicaid and education programs.

Not to be outdone, FamousDC.com points out that @GOPLeader John Boehner tweeted about the decision as well:

This “tweet that ruined vacation” (as D.C. largely decamps in August for summer break) is just another indicator on how various parts of government have embraced use of Twitter in their daily routine – and a reminder of how much power can be carried in just 140 characters.

Traditional forms of diplomacy still dominate, but 21st-century statecraft is not mere corporate rebranding — swapping tweets for broadcasts. It represents a shift in form and in strategy — a way to amplify traditional diplomatic efforts, develop tech-based policy solutions and encourage cyberactivism.

The story is a must-read, but that’s not the point of this post. As I dove into the article, the author pointed out that two of the leaders of State’s efforts, Jared Cohen and Alec Ross, were some of the most-followed Twitter users in Federal government:

On Twitter, Cohen, who is 28, and Ross, who is 38, are among the most followed of anyone working for the U.S. government, coming in third and fourth after Barack Obama and John McCain. This didn’t happen by chance. Their Twitter posts have become an integral part of a new State Department effort to bring diplomacy into the digital age, by using widely available technologies to reach out to citizens, companies and other nonstate actors.

Jared Cohen, left, and Alec Ross. They rank #4 & #5 Fed employees on GovTwit. Photo: Michele Asselin for The New York Times.

Declaring Cohen and Ross the third and fourth most followed in government struck me as odd, mostly because the standard statistics GovTwit.com automatically generates charts Cohen and Ross in the top 50, but not up toward the top 10…or so I thought.

So I did a bit of digging, reviewing the GovTwit directory sorted by follower numbers. Using that method I found that Cohen ranks as #31 and Ross directly behind him at #32 overall of the nearly 3,000 IDs listed in GovTwit (as of 7/19/2010).

Now, the great thing about GovTwit, in my humble opinion, is that it includes IDs from all facets of the business of government. The directory includes individuals, agencies, contractors, academics, state/local, gov outside of the U.S. and more, all tagged by keywords. While this makes finding a wide variety of gov-related Twitter IDs easy, it doesn’t allow easy viewing of which U.S. Federal employees using Twitter may have the most followers. So while Governor Schwarzenegger may rank #5 overall in GovTwit (as ranked by number of followers), for the purpose of the NY Times story, he doesn’t get counted.

Looking only at individuals’ U.S. Federal Twitter IDs (removing government agency Twitter IDs, media and the like), Cohen and Ross actually rank as #4 & #5 with regard to Twitter followers. NASA’s Mike Massimino takes the third slot. Since I took the time to go through the data, thought others may be interested as well and decided to share here.

Below are the Top 10 individual Federal Twitter IDs. All links open to their GovTwit directory profile, which lists follower stats, date joined, site rank and more.

Top 10 Federal Twitter IDs

#1: @BarackObama (#1 overall)

#2: @JohnMcCain (#6 overall)

#3: @astro_mike (#14 overall)

#4: @JaredCohen (#31 overall)

#5: @AlecJRoss (#32 overall)

#6: @astro_jose (#36 overall)

#7: @PressSec (#47 overall)

#8: @jimdemint (#81 overall)

#9: @clairemc (#86 overall)

#10: @astro_127 (#87 overall)

Interestingly enough, the former Google employee and White House staffer isn’t taking on the Government Liaison role Twitter recently advertised; according to her tweetstream she’ll be helping drive the international and business strategy for Twitter from their San Francisco offices.

Jacobs Stanton was previously President Obama’s appointee as the White House’s Director of Citizen Participation. Wikipedia notes her work at Google included Google Moderator, Google Finance, and the Open Social initiative.

I think this is fantastic news for Twitter and the fast-growing government 2.0 movement. Combined with boots on the ground in D.C., it appears Twitter will be gaining some great insights into the business of government and how they can possibly better tailor their service for government use.

Congratulations to both Katie and to Twitter!

Social media tools such as Twitter are finding more formal roles in helping agencies meet their missions

Twitter, the fast-growing social media network that limits users to 140-character posts — or tweets, as they are known — is reaching another milestone in its meteoric growth as it seeks to hire its first-ever government liaison. The new Washington-based position is Twitter’s latest acknowledgment that government organizations worldwide, including the U.S. federal government, are fast becoming some of the most active users of its service.

During the past two years, I’ve been tracking much of this growth up close through my Web site, GovTwit.com, an online social media directory for government agencies that use Twitter. GovTwit began with about 50 government and government-related Twitter IDs in 2008 and has rapidly expanded to include nearly 3,000 today.

Twitter’s search for a Washington presence is a nod to the rapid growth of government users and the fact that we are still early in this revolution called Government 2.0.

A passionate community of forward-thinking leaders in and around government proselytizes about the many benefits of open-government tools and channels. But for the most part, government agencies communicate with one another, the public and other governments in the same way they did in the Web 1.0 world. Simply put, organizational and cultural change in government hasn’t kept up with the pace of new technologies.

But we’re reaching a critical point at which scales might begin to tip toward increased adoption of tools such as Twitter into more formal roles to help agencies achieve their missions.

Read the second half of the column, including a list of examples of government using Twitter over at FederalComputerWeek.

As part of the celebration, hundreds of folks are tweeting and blogging today about their heroes. Being GovTwit, I thought I would chime in with some of my top heroes who make #gov20 so great on Twitter in particular.

Of course there are the nearly 3,000 government employees, agencies, contractors, politicos and academics that make up the GovTwit directory itself, but whether it’s sharing links, provoking thought or pushing out content, here are 35 Top GovTwits you should be following:

“If you are successful, the world will be a better place…”

That quote, from the job posting Twitter made earlier this week seeking their first “government liaison,” is a window in to the aspirations Twitter has for their first D.C.-based employee. While the announcement has generated news headlines globally and set off a flurry of tweets, blog posts, surveys, “hire me” campaigns and other activity, most if not all of the coverage so far has been limited to rehashing the 300 word job listing itself (reproduced below).

Government Liaison

Full-Time — (Remote) Washington, DC

About This Job
Twitter is looking for an experienced, entreprenurial [sic] person to make Twitter better for policymakers, political organizations and government officials and agencies. You’ll be our first D.C. -based employee and the closest point of contact with a variety of important people and organizations looking to get the most out of Twitter on both strategic and highly tactical levels. You’ll help Twitter understand what we can do to better serve candidates and policymakers across party and geographical lines. You’ll support policymakers use of Twitter to help them communicate and interact with their constituents and the world. You’ll work with nearly every group at the company and at every level to pursue your vision for how Twitter ought to be. You’ll help set the culture and approach of a fledgling public policy department and be an important part of our very small company.

If you are successful, the world will be a better place because policymakers will have closer connections with their constituents and will be sharing more information with them.

Responsibilities

• Provide excellent support of government and political use of Twitter
• Advocate for government and political users within Twitter
• Increase political use of Twitter
• Develop best practices and other educational material
• Do outreach to better understand government needs

Qualifications

• At least 3 years (though more, even much more, is welcome) working in government or with politicians
• Diplomatic instincts and great relationship skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Willingness to travel
• Direct entrepreneurial or other trail blazing experience a plus
• Fluency in technology, passion about sharing information
• Knowledge of government and politics that extend beyond the Beltway and the U.S.

Follow www.twitter.com/JoinTheFlock for more recruiting info

Due to a fortunate coincidence in timing, Twitter’s Vice President of Communications Sean Garrett (@SG) had agreed to chat with me a bit about a pet peeve of mine (Twitter verification status for government accounts). It just so happened we connected today, just after the new/real GovTwit job was announced. I asked Sean if he could shed any more light on what Twitter is looking for from this new role, and here’s a bit of what he shared.

Q: What can you tell me about the new government liaison role that may not be in the job description?

@SG: As we said, this will be our first hire in D.C. and we are looking for someone who who can deal with the technical aspects of using Twitter, but at the same time be comfortable walking into a congressional or government office and speaking to those audiences. We want someone who can help provide those real examples of how Twitter is and can be used by government and can help government officials and agencies understand how they can get more out of their use of Twitter.

The person will need to be able to navigate political campaign organizations as well as government agencies and Congress; each group is obviously different in how they will want to learn and use Twitter.

Q: You’re hiring in D.C., is this U.S Federal focused only?

@SG: Twitter is not just interested in government from a U.S. federal standpoint, but [also] outside the Beltway in states and localities. We’re obviously global as well, and this new role will look not only to U.S., but also how other governments use or don’t use Twitter; how campaigns work/don’t work and how they translate from one level to another.

Q: Mark Drapeau, who co-chaired the recently-held Gov 2.0 Expo and works for Microsoft’s public sector practice, blogged today that Twitter “appears like a company out of touch, hopping on a bandwagon.” Mark positioned that such a corporate role isn’t necessarily relevant at this point.

You posted a couple of replies to Mark’s post, but in general, what need is Twitter trying to fill here?

@SG: We believe Twitter will be better off having a direct dialogue with public officials who use our service. And I would say that yes, the “Twitter 101″ conversations are still important. Many in D.C. are eager to engage on Twitter and we want to help them maximize this experience.  And, there are some who don’t understand how to use it or where the value is.  We’d like to change this where we can. Having a point person that can help verify government IDs, someone that can be down the street to meet with officials in their office, or serve as an overall point person for government outside the Beltway is the initial goal here.

I must point out that I disagree with much of Mark’s take on this, based mainly on talks I give to a variety of audiences, where the vast majority of those in and around government have very little understanding of “Gov 2.0,” much less how tools like Twitter could be used to help them meet mission and improve communication and collaboration. Heck, I’d go so far as to say there’s still plenty of opportunity even among those deeply embedded in Gov 2.0 and Open Government movements, as highlighted over at GovLoop’s list of Federal Government New Media Managers, where a spreadsheet shows less than half tweet.

I think having Twitter appoint someone to focus more specifically on helping government better use its service can only be a good thing. Will one person make a huge immediate impact? Perhaps not, but if Twitter goes about the search effectively and selects someone willing to engage with the already robust community of GovTwits out there, perhaps they really can help make the world a better place.

- – - – - – - -

Want to read more? Block out your day, as the number of stories around this job posting are numerous. While not exhaustive, here are some of the more interesting posts, stories and commentary around the new Twitter government liaison role you may want to check out:

Government 2.0 Movement Seemingly Passes By Twitter, Inc. — Mark Drapeau’s Posterous (with comments from Twitter’s @SG)

Top 10 Requests for the New Government Liaison at Twitter – HHS’s Andrew P. Wilson offers advice

Tweeters Twitter should consider for its new government gig – GovFresh (thanks for tip of hat to GovTwit)

Why is Twitter hiring a government liaison? Thoughts from @SG and more – Alex Howard/Digiphile (with some great comments from Alex, much more eloquent than I)

Gov 2.0 and #Twitter Finally Meet! – Alan W. Silberberg/IdeaGov (fit for true Washington insider?)

Can Twitter reimagine democracy? – Adriel Hampton (pioneering political useage)

Attn Evan at Twitter, some advice regarding your government efforts – John F. Moore (jump straight to the great idea bullets)

Five Ways Twitter Can Adapt Itself for Government – IBM Center for the Business of Government

Andrew Wilson’s Top 10 Requests of the Twitter Gov Liaison – Chris Dufour

Twitter hiring Government Liaison in D.C. – Oh My Gov!

Twitter Seeks First D.C. Staffer as Founder Touts Mobile Pay Tool to Politicos – ClickZ

Twitter Hiring Liaison to Engage Government Users — Government Technology

Twitter Advertises For Washington Liaison – WebPro News

Twitter to hire White House liaison to help policymakers ‘tweet more effectively’ - Telegraph (UK)

Twitter seeking liaison in D.C. — Washington Post

Twitter Looks To Hire Government Liaison – Information Week

Twitter Looking To Hire A Government Liaison In Washington D.C. – TechCrunch

Twitter looking for Beltway liaison – The Hill

Help wanted: Twitter looks to hire a ‘government liaison’ – Federal Computer Week

While there’s been an @GeorgeWBush for a while now in Twitter as a protected, unverified account, today it appears the former President’s official Twitter ID (or at least the ID for the George W. Bush Center) has been turned on with the ID @George_WBush. The Huffington Post reports that the foundation has joined Facebook as well:

His Facebook page includes information on his location (Dallas, TX), birth date (July 6, 1946), education (Harvard Business School and Yale), as well as links to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush-Cheney Alumni Association, the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, and a link to Amazon, where his forthcoming book, Decision Points, is available for pre-order. There’s also a link to the Washington Speakers Bureau, for those interested in scheduling an event with President Bush.

The former President’s new ID has garnered over 4,000 followers in the first hour since launching the new Twitter ID. His first tweet (made around 2:30 p.m. today)?

I’m now on Twitter & Facebook. Stay Tuned for updates!

Maybe someone should have shown him how he could insert a link to his new Facebook page into his tweet I’m also laying odds that @George_WBush get’s verified by Twitter before @USAirForce.

You can follow the former president’s center (and his wife @LauraWBush) on Twitter over at GovTwit, the social media directory for government.

UPDATE 1: There is some confusion on Twitter as to the legitimacy of the new ID. Former Bush White House staffer David Almacy tweeted the ID is a fake. ABC News’ The Note, however, tweeted that they’ve been told it’s a feed for the George W Bush Foundation (though it’s not clear who told them it’s legit). If I had to bet, I’m going with Almacy’s sources here….not a legit account.

UPDATE 2: Agency France-Presse correspondent Oliver Knox tweets that the former president’s office says @George_WBush is not the former president’s feed and “Dubya has “no plans to tweet.”

UPDATE 3: Thanks to former White House Internet Director David Almacy for helping to clarify:

1. The @George_WBush ID is a fake (yet still up and running)
2. @GeorgeWBush is legit (but dormant/not yet launched)
3. @GWPresCenter is legit Twitter ID for the former president’s center (and now in GovTwit).
4. The new Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/georgewbush is legit, but shouldn’t be confused with
5. …the Facebook App page for the George W. Bush Center (http://apps.facebook.com/georgewbushcenter)

As I tweeted yesterday, a lot of the confusion around the “brandjacking” here could be elimated if http://GeorgeWBushCenter.com would put Facebook & Twitter icons on its home page beyond the FB application.

UPDATE 4: Both the Christian Science Monitor and Vanity Fair have posted online items with more details on the establishment of the fake Twitter ID, including quotes from Bush spokesman David Sherzer. Strangly, the Wall Street Journal’s “Washington Wire” blog has yet to correct a story it posted Thursday morning.