“We do politics,” says Quintin Oliver of Stratagem, “as a public affairs company, we help people and organisations navigate their way through the democratic process in Northern Ireland. We also do what we can to help develop a better understanding of how politics works.

“This means partnering up on projects such as the Slugger O'Toole Political Awards (sluggerawards.com) and working with ‘Where Is My Public Servant' (WIMPS), www.wimps.org.uk .”

And you will find their Twitter feed at twitter.com/stratagemni

Seen by many as a gossip-fest, Twitter is avoided by some more serious people. And Twitter is a silly name. “Yes, but so is Slugger, O'Toole, so is CrunchTalk, so is WIMPS, but we partner with them all successfully.

“There is an acceptance of quirky online names, but if the website it's attached to is no use, that turns users away.”

Stratagem engages with a broad range of media. For them, the utility rather than name matters.

Stratagem takes an integrated approach to social media. On their web site (www.stratagem-ni.com ), they carry real-time feeds from their Twitter account.

As soon as they publish, the “tweet” appears on the site as well as FaceBook, Bebo and their other social media sites.

“We also use Twitter to provide live updates from events we are attending such as political debates, and we post live photos to Twitter, such as from election counts. This adds depth and colour to politics.’’

What does Quintin and his team find interesting to read on Twitter? “Instant news and pictures, pointers to more detailed information, and a nexus of politically-aware and news-conscious users posting views and analysis.

“The instantaneous nature of Twitter as a medium means that often news breaks there before anywhere else.

“By watching trending topics on Twitter, you can see what |people are interested in and what's happening at any given moment.”

Is micro-blogging changing public engagement with politics? “Micro-blogging allows virtual attendance at political events as well as instant analysis.

“The two-way nature of micro-blogging means users of services such as Twitter can discuss political issues easily.”

Davy Sims is a broadcaster, podcaster and writer. He provides advice to businesses on using social media and blogs at davysims.com