Eve, President Kagame and Authenticity on Twitter

"More generally, Twitter is filled with what people think about. Facebook is full of what they've done." @hamman

I am fascinated about what people think about. This may be the reason I enjoy twitter so much.

On Monday this week the following fascinating twitter conversation occurred, mainly between President Kagame and Eve DSouza;

President Kagame then went on to tweet again that he does not rely on handlers for his twitter account and is tweeting himself. Eve saluted him for this!

Is a twitter account less authentic because it is managed by a surrogate or handler of the account owner? I am not sure but I have to say that I follow people because I am interested in what they are thinking about.

I was puzzled when I read that Barack Obama had sent his first tweet on January 18 2010. Because I had been following his twitter account @BarackObama for several months and had assumed he tweeted in person. His twitter account remains an important communication tool but it is definitely less valuable to me. It is understandable that it may not be wise for a president or CEO to share their raw thoughts. That said the conversations they can have with their citizens or customers are invaluable. They can escape the bubble they often find themselves in.

It is difficult to tell if a twitter account owner is truly tweeting themselves and there is no way of telling if it really was Paul Kagame responding to Eve.

Leaders who are willing to use twitter to share their thoughts are, as Eve said, to be saluted. I think that Martha Karua tweets herself and she does it in a way that communicates she really is interested in engaging other twitter users in discussions. That she has tweeted from the dais at Uhuru Park during the promulgation of the new constitution and from Parliament does certanly suggest she is doing it herself.

It communicates an authenticity that people crave from their leaders. It is very evident that Kenyan twitter users appreciate Martha Karua's willingness to engage and converse with them and share her thoughts!