Resumen
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a case study of one U.S. Government agency?s experience using Twitter as a platform for knowledge generation and exchange. It is intended as a precursor to a more intense study. In 2012, the United States Agency for International Development?s (USAID) Bureau for Food Security worked with the USAID Knowledge-Driven Microenterprise Development (KDMD) project to pilot a series of Twitter Chat activities, organized under the #AskAg hashtag. The initial objective was to give a voice to development practitioners in the field by providing a monthly platform for them to exchange knowledge on various subjects, with the understanding that the conversation would happen in a transparent and accepted environment?Twitter. Since then, the Bureau has conducted more than 20 #AskAg Twitter Chats with over 100 experts and organizations. These Twitter Chats have covered a multitude of topics that relate to the Bureau?s knowledge cycle. #AskAg Twitter Chats have evolved from a simple question and answer format to a more robust, structured conversation due to the addition of a full-time facilitator and participants? greater familiarity with the Twitter platform. Maciej Chmielewski