Facebook and Twitter Federal Accounts Go Silent; Web Sites Shut Down

Federal Facebook and Twitter accounts turned off Tuesday morning, and Web sites hung "closed to the public" until further notice signs, as the government shut down services and Web sites that were deemed nonessential.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers received furlough notices after Congress failed late Monday to agree on a resolution to fund the government. The move put thousands of social media and search marketing experts on notice. Not only did the House shut down government, but derailed workers from their jobs and daily routines.

The Library of Congress tweeted that it had closed Oct. 1 until further notice. Events have been canceled and most of its Web sites were inaccessible. The Statue of Liberty account sent a message that "because of the federal gov't shutdown this National Park Service Twitter feed is inactive. We’ll start tweeting again when we get back."

The U.S. Capital tweeted that "due to a lapse in government funding, this account will not be active until further notice."

It seems the only one tweeting was President Barack Obama: "Despite the effort of extremists in the House of Representatives, @Obamacare is not shut down."

For those marketers traveling abroad, the Travel state department wants U.S. residents to know they're "open for business, issuing visas, passports, & providing services to US citizens abroad."

Other government agencies that shut down social media accounts and Web sites include the Federal Communications Commission, Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Agriculture.

The CDC warned on their Web site that due to the lapse in government funding, the organization will only update funded sites. "As a result, the information on this Web site may not be up to date, the transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted."

A similar message from the CDC on Facebook read: "We're sorry, but we will not be updating this profile or responding to comments during the government shutdown. We'll be back as soon as possible!"

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