Utility (or YOUtility as Jay Baer would say), is the best value you can provide your followers on any platform. If they find your content USEFUL they will keep following you. There are many different ways to be useful and I think I’ve found the top 10 most useful Twitter accounts in this great city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. If you’ve been thinking Twitter is full of people talking about going to the bathroom and eating breakfast, think again! You will only find Twitter fun, interesting and USEFUL if you follow the right accounts. For a good start, I recommend following these 10 accounts. Pretty much anyone will find their content useful.
@BigLiftHFX
During a multi-year project to completely rebuild the busiest bridge in our city, without closing it completely, Halifax Harbour Bridges pulled out all the stops, including an app and a Twitter account to keep commuters up-to-date on bridge closures. If you were commuting to Halifax from Dartmouth in the last two years, this is a must follow.
Parking on the side of the streets in our lovely city causes major problems for snow clearing crews. If you don’t want to get a ticket, this is a great account to follow. I’d even recommend turning on notifications for this one so you get notified every time they tweet whether the parking ban is on or off.
Anyone with children in school will want to follow this account as sometimes the tweet announcing school closures comes earlier than the automated text messages and emails you’ve signed up for. Another one for which to consider turning on notifications.
@HFXTraffic
There are several Halifax Traffic accounts out there now. Some are defunct, but this one is still active as of writing. If you commute for work, you’ll probably want to check this account before heading home for the day on your regular routes.
If you want the real, hard-hitting, no holds barred approach to local news, Halifax Examiner is where you’ll find it. I think founder Tim Bousquet is probably the best journalist we have on the local beat here in Halifax.
Follow @HfxExaminer
For more wide-ranging coverage of local news, follow Local Xpress, written by the striking reporters from the Chronicle Herald.
Follow @xpress_local
If you commute to work via bus and/or ferry, the Halifax Transit account will be invaluable for letting you know of delayed busses and other issues that could affect your commute.
Follow @hfxtransit
@HFXRegPolice
When you want the real scoop on the latest criminal activities in Halifax, it’s best to go to the police. Not only do they keep us up to date on investigations (where possible), they are proactive and have a sense of humour.
Follow @HfxRegPolice
Family Fun Halifax compiles all the goings-on in Halifax every week and promotes them in an easy to use format. Looking for fun, inexpensive things to do with your children this weekend? They’ve got you covered.
Follow @familyfunyhz
The city of Halifax’s official feed includes info on snow clearing efforts, community recreation programs and civic events.
Follow @hfxgov
Twitter List
I set up a Twitter list with all of these accounts in it for your following convenience. What account do you consider to be one of the most useful Twitter accounts in Halifax? Let me know in the comments so I can add them to the list in the future.
Somehow I missed this post – great resource!