FEMA administrator in a Twitter first? @femainfocus to answer questions

FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison

Twitter, the micro-blogging site, is growing at a remarkable clip — 722 percent in 2008. That means that agencies are looking to reach citizens via Twitter. (Find those on Twitter at the GovTwit list and the US Government on Twitter list — you can even follow me at twitter.com/cdorobek.) Most agencies really really just post items from their Web site. But FEMA is doing what I think is a first — taking to Twitter for a “Twitter Media Conference.”

In what I believe is a first — I stand to be corrected — the FEMA administrator, David Paulison, will be taking to Twitter on Monday from 3-3:30p (ET, I assume) — something they’re called a Twitter Media Conference.

On Twitter, you can find FEMA at www.twitter.com/femainfocus — @femainfocus in Twitter lingo. And they are using #FEMARDP, which lets you search for topics in this area.

Here is their brief write-up:

FEMAINFOCUS Twitter Media Conference

FEMA Administrator David Paulison will be available from 3 -3:30 pm Monday, Jan 12, 2009, to give a message and reply to questions using the agency’s Twitter account, femainfocus. The agency’s top official will discuss where FEMA was, where it is now, and where he sees it going.

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Documents

Press Release on the Twitter Media Availability

Statement on Protocols for the Event

Read the full release after the break…