Canada's Tourism Commission has set up outdoor 8′ x 10′ interactive Twitter walls in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. The idea behind the really big tweets is to show Americans how much fun Canadians can be by the way we tweet about our country.
Whether you are in one of these cities or not, if you’re an American you can enter a contest for a free trip up north by following @keep_exploring ( that is how names are managed in Twitter by the way and followers and following is the key to be a success on Twitter) , and replying to the account with your dream Canadian vacation. The Twitter board will display the postings directly related to the promotion and other posts found through specific Canadian search terms.
Here’s the promo video put together by the Canadian Tourism Commission:





So, still think Twitter doesn't have a roll to play in the real world? The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada does because they use twitter regularly. Alberta's Minister of Education posts his own 140 character updates. The U.S Military uses it extensively as does the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (they even have their own blog at http://blog.tsa.gov/ ) .
We use it at Genome Alberta to both follow influencers in the biotech field and we in turn are followed by a solid list of people connected wth government, industry, academia, public relations, and media. Why not follow us as @mikesgene ? 
Here's a small sampling of what has been happening on Twitter in the last couple of weeks:

@23andMe   Update on 23andMe and Committee on Energy and Commerce of the United States House of Representatives http://bit.ly/9vGZsS
@2020science  House of Lords debating nanotechnologies and food today, around 3:30 PM: http://tinyurl.com/2g8xqfv
@AccessDNA   Longevity study criticized by part of scientific community. Is the determining fact environment or genetics? http://nyti.ms/9pEh7U
@Argent23 For any plant DNA geeks out there http://bit.ly/bYu8Lg
@bakercom1 writing about developments in biosciences today. Some really good medical advancements coming down the pike
@blausengroup Duke studying how iPad can be used by medical researchers http://bit.ly/b8ISan via @imedicalapps #meded #clinicaltrials
@Comprendia New blog post: How To Get More Life Science Followers on Twitter http://bit.ly/chUQl5
@doe_jgi  Many eyes on single cell genomics videos from the Sequencing, Finishing, Analysis in the Future meeting - up at http://bit.ly/aOtKDZ #fb
@DrBondar Cool Biology Job, July 9 2010: An Aquatic Biology PhD Fellowship based at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The ... http://bit.ly/aOyvrV
@GenomeBiology  Due to popular demand the deadline for abstract submissions to Beyond the Genome extended 'til 30 July http://cot.ag/dnrGi1 #BTG2010 #genome
@idtdna Previously unknown natural mechanism behind cocaine addiction uncovered http://ow.ly/28DQT  #geneexpression
@jhpincus  The Open Science Shift. http://bit.ly/b0skfk #teamsci10 (p.s. bunch of life scientists will be at @barcampsd tomoro)
@jsourceinnovate Seventy-five per cent of Spanish journalists use social media http://to.pbs.org/anNi9M
@kejames Changes announced at ScienceBlogs': http://bit.ly/aLiOa6 ...looks promising but is it too little too late?
@lindaavey  Pharma and lawyers will continue to make money; meanwhile we're all guinea pigs. Personalized med is still more of a myth than a reality.
@pgx_reporter 23andMe Adds Option to Opt Out of Research Studies Following IRB Approval for Study Protocol: According to the new... http://bit.ly/8XAcnY
@RebeccaSkloot Surprised? Not 1 bit "This isn't 1st time Seed sacrificed editorial independence" http://bit.ly/auin9f #sbFAIL #JournalismEthics via @PalMD
@ScienceAlert Stem cell gene linked to cancer: Australian researchers have found a mutation in stem cell… http://goo.gl/fb/0dHC2
@StemCellNetwork Personalized medicine is not only a goal, but a part of the process, too http://bit.ly/djd1TI
@that_angela  How to read a food label -- good learning! http://ow.ly/29jeF
@USASceinceFest  #SciFest Learn about #biotechnology with wicked rhymes that will warp your mind w Science Rapper @USAScienceFest @ http://ow.ly/29VZZ

And who exactly are these busy tweets?

• @23andMe