Recently, Tampere University hosted the first academic Twitter conference. There were 18 presentations by Twitter researchers from eight universities. The conference attracted 150 people, who despite the long day participated actively right through the last debate. One central theme was live tweeting during the Finnish election debates on TV. The favorite subjects of the live tweets were the chairmen of the political parties, economy, and the nature of the debate. In general, tweets focused less on issues and more on how debaters spoke and acted. Moderate debaters received the most positive reviews. At the conference, Twitter was seen as an excellent platform for public dialogue, but its user base was considered elite. Twitter does not directly democratize debate; rather, it reproduces the power structures of society. My presentation dealt with the use of Twitter by city governments. Cities should reduce autotweets and increase discussion and networking with residents. This requires a re-evaluation of the objectives and significance of Twitter in city communications.