Twitter has taken the county by storm with many of Lincolnshire's biggest public bodies using the site to "tweet" updates on the latest crime, health, and tourism information.
Amongst those "tweeting" across the county are the Lincolnshire Police, NHS Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Tourism, and BBC Lincolnshire.
In essence, Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service, enabling users to send and read messages known as tweets.
Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 words displayed on the user's profile page, and delivered to the user's subscribers, who are in turn known as "followers".
Sites like Twitter and, to a lesser extent, Facebook, allow organisations to communicate with people at a time more suited to them. These mediums are being used more frequently by organisations and public bodies in extra efforts to reach out to more people across the county.
With over 400 followers, NHS Lincolnshire uses their Twitter account to offer regular updates with the latest information on swine flu, local consultations, and the ongoing Chlamydia campaign.
Additionally, Lincolnshire Police are currently experimenting with the use of Twitter as a means for social communication. The South Division currently has an account, with over 600 followers.
Written in both English and Polish, Lincolnshire Police use this account to provide the latest crime details and appeals for information for those in the Grantham, Spalding and Stamford areas.
Police spokesman Dick Holmes said: "The success of the South Division's profile will determine whether or not Twitter will be used by police throughout the rest of the county."
Additionally, Lincolnshire Tourism and Visit Lincolnshire have more than 100 combined followers, and work in tandem to provide the latest tourism information to both the public and commercial sectors, including event information and entertainment deals.
Penny Baker, chief executive of Lincolnshire Tourism, said: "Twitter is a fun, fast and effective communications tool within the social media world.
"We've embraced the popularity of Twitter as a visitor destination to keep holidaymakers, tourism industry professionals and local people up to date with our news. Being able to keep in touch with people from all over the world in both a consumer and corporate sense is invaluable.
"Our Twitter pages are an excellent way to tweet about county events, special offers, and quirky news stories.
"It has been extremely positive for us so far, giving strength to our public voice and injecting a light-hearted, conversational element to our marketing."
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