Summer 2009 will forever be known in Cincinnati as the summer of the of The Great Twitter Debate.  It all started with a little tweet or two.  Some apparently harmless twittering and tweeting.  But what was tweeted…or twittered…tooted?… to launch such a grand display of enlightened public discourse?  No one really remembers, but it had something to do with what was happening at the time in Cincinnati City Council Chambers.

The Council debate that day was centered around peripheral issues. Nothing as earth shaking as proper Twitter etiquette, just filling a $20M budget hole that materialized magically in the middle of the year.  The budget correction passed after some limited discussion and creative interpretation of the Rules of Council.  Then came the mighty Tweet that roared as  as potently as any songbird in the height of spring.  The media were riveted.  Enthralled by the question: To Tweet or not To Tweet?  Councilmembers rolled up their sleeves and dug in to the public policy question with gusto.

Can I Tweet in Chambers?  Does the public have a right to my Tweets? Am I obligated to Tweet the substance of fleeting debates?  Should my Tweets be sweet?  What if my Tweets aren’t so sweet?  Will Council censure me as a Tweeting creep?  Age-old questions, all.  The debate rages on.

There was a front page follow-up warning of the physical dangers of tweeting…or twittering.  A motion was suggested to regulate Tweets. Just when it appeared all discussion would cease on everything but the Twitter Debate, another bomb dropped.

Like most of the best Council debates, this next one started with a little fantasy.  Some pretending.  Like pretending the city takes in more revenue than it does.  Like pretending we don’t have a massive budget deficit.  The King of Pop has passed.  So let’s pretend Council were in session, would we stand in silence to remember the King? After all, he was here once for a concert in the 80’s I think.  Could the King’s passing be effectively commemorated without the honor of a Council moment of silence?  Those moments are so rare.

And so, with the passing of the Pop Icon, the Twitter debate twittered out.  And now Council must find another way to serve and amuse the public.