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Sweden's official Twitter account now run by its citizens

Sweden's official Twitter account now run by its citizens

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Sweden's tourism department has decided to make its citizens the voice of the country's official Twitter handle by turning the account over to a different Swede every week.

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Sweden Twitter iPad
Sweden Twitter iPad

Sweden's tourism department has decided to make its citizens the voice of the country's official Twitter handle by turning the account over to a different Swede every week. To make @Sweden "the world's most democratic Twitter account," the country is chosing people who "represent values, skills, ideas and are passionate about a number of areas" — not the most specific qualifications, but examples of upcoming citizens who will represent their country online include teachers, priests, farmers, and truck drivers.

The first lucky citzen, 22-year-old writer Jack Werner, took over on December 10th and has essentially turned the account into his own personal Twitter feed — there's little tourism-focused content and there appears to be no filter on what Jack can post. That's just as well, since the goal is to "portray the multitude of Swedish skills, passions and ideas," not tell people where to go on vacation. We'll see how long Sweden keeps this up, but the country is certainly putting forth a more human face than you might see on other countries' Twitter accounts.