Innovative Uses of Social Media in Government

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UNDERWRITTEN BY Innovative Uses of Social Media in Government By Adam Stone About one in eight human beings on the planet has a Facebook account.

1 UNDERWRITTEN BY Innovative Uses of Social Media in Government By Adam Stone About one in eight human beings on the planet has a Facebook account. While somewhat incomprehensible, this figure also is significant, especially for federal employees. When working for a government of, by and for the people, it is axiomatic that one should go where the people are. That would be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, to name a few of the leading social media sites where millions gather to share insights and information. Public sector officials have shown some agility in their willingness to get into the game. Disaster preparedness, diplomacy, health care for veterans, and an open dialogue with the president all are examples of the ways in which social media is opening the door to more transparent, more participatory government. FEMA An early entrant into social media, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has staked out ground on Twitter, drawing considerable attention with disaster updates while also using the medium to spread news and promote preparedness. FEMA s Twitter page has attracted 110,000 followers. Tweets predict potential disasters, monitor response activities and advise residents on actions they might need to take. When winter storms threatened Oklahoma, New Mexico and North Texas in 2011, the agency broadcast word of where to go for information: Another #winterstorm for OK, north TX & New Mexico tonight/tmrw. Prepare at @ NMDHSEM. While cryptic for non-tweeters, this post directs followers to FEMA s preparedness page and suggests other relevant Tweets.

When storms and earthquakes are in abeyance, officials sometimes take a lighter tone, as in one recent Tweet that redirected to a blog posting in which Waffle House executives described their efforts

2 When storms and earthquakes are in abeyance, officials sometimes take a lighter tone, as in one recent Tweet that redirected to a blog posting in which Waffle House executives described their efforts to plan for disaster. The agency takes its Twitter program one step further than the official notifications, adding a human element to emergency preparedness. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has drawn more than 23,000 followers to his He writes, 3days till #Hurricane Season kicks off, 2 named storms already, R U Ready? FEMA has found the power of social media to be a two-way street. When Tropical Cyclone Wilma struck American Samoa, a resident Tweeted on local conditions, giving the agency and its followers firsthand information in real time. WHITE HOUSE When it comes to social media in government, engagement has been happening from the top down, with the White House operating out in front on some of the newest platforms. President Obama received a lot of media attention in January when he hosted his first Hangout on Google+, a group video chat service that launched in June More than 227,000 people submitted topics for discussion with the president and his guests five citizens from across the country. In keeping with the interactive themes of social media, the president encouraged follow-up questions, and engaged in dialogue with participants. The forum comes on the heels of White House involvement in Facebook and Twitter town hall meetings. Just after the State of the Union address in January, the White House hosted a series of Twitter sessions with more than 30 senior administration officials. The president is on YouTube, too. In a series called West Wing Week, the White House delivers weekly updates on Obama s travels, as well as his visits with foreign leaders and business groups. As the most digital administration to date, the Obama presidency is showing that social media can play a role at even the highest levels of government.

VETERANS AFFAIRS Long criticized as a bureaucratic maze, the Veterans Affairs Department has been buffing its image with a new level of transparency thanks to social media tools.

In an effort to reach veterans at the local level, VA has established some 150 Facebook pages, mostly at its medical centers, with a combined base of 440,000 fans.

3 VETERANS AFFAIRS Long criticized as a bureaucratic maze, the Veterans Affairs Department has been buffing its image with a new level of transparency thanks to social media tools. In May, the department reported its primary Facebook page had topped 200,000 followers, giving VA news and information broad reach across the nation. That is the tip of the iceberg. In an effort to reach veterans at the local level, VA has established some 150 Facebook pages, mostly at its medical centers, with a combined base of 440,000 fans. VA maintains 70 Twitter feeds, a YouTube channel featuring 400-plus videos and a Flickr page stocked with more than 12,000 photos. The department s advance into social media has been well-regulated and carefully planned. Since August 2011, VA has operated under an internal directive that encourages social media as a means to reach out to veterans and provide timely information. It calls for designated Web communications officers and coordinators at VA facilities, officials who will safeguard security and privacy while ensuring content is accurate and relevant. Sometimes disparaged for its opacity, VA s embrace of social media may be indicative of the ways the Web can help government agencies gain trust through public participation. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS When it comes to the Library of Congress, most people think about books, documents and volumes of verbiage. But administrators at the agency have come around to the notion that a picture really is worth 1,000 words. They have been compiling a rich Flickr photo stream, bringing to the public a panorama of historical images depicting a broad swatch of American life and culture. The Flickr endeavor is far from comprehensive several thousand images from a collection of 14 million but it functions as a powerful educational resource. Collections give a glimpse into the Civil War, baseball, the American West and a Chicago rail yard. The initiative has in turn helped to advance the technology of social media. When the Library launched its pilot in 2008, Flickr simultaneously initiated The Commons, a new tagging system that encourages viewers to enrich images with labels, descriptions and comments of their own.

STATE DEPARTMENT About 70 percent of U.S. embassies send regular Tweets on what s happening at the State Department s diplomatic posts around the world, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency advocacy group.

4 STATE DEPARTMENT About 70 percent of U.S. embassies send regular Tweets on what s happening at the State Department s diplomatic posts around the world, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency advocacy group. Most of the 121 U.S. embassies on Twitter use it to share links to press releases, published articles and broadcasts. Some even link to ambassadors personal accounts. The embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, is one of the most social-media savvy. With 330,000 followers, its Facebook fan base is larger than all other U.S. embassies combined, according to Citizen 2.0, a white paper by the Swiss company RedCut. In one of the embassy s most popular postings, President Obama s visit to Indonesia was announced on Facebook a few hours before a press release was issued. The page quickly drew more a thousand posts from folks responding with thumbs-up and words of support. The Jakarta embassy page sets the standard on a number of fronts, according to Sprout Insights, a blog devoted to intersection of social media and business. The content is aimed at local interests and most of it is in the native language.

Meet your mission by maximizing direct connections with the public If increasing your outreach by 300% to 1100% and communicating more easily with the public through digital communications will help

5 Meet your mission by maximizing direct connections with the public If increasing your outreach by 300% to 1100% and communicating more easily with the public through digital communications will help you drive mission value and meet open government, transparency, and digital government initiatives, GovDelivery can help. With GovDelivery Digital Communication Management (DCM), you can leverage all your organization s content, including websites, blogs, and social media activities, and automate multichannel digital distribution ( , SMS/text messages, social media networks, and more) to help you get the word out to citizens and stakeholders more effectively than ever before. Find out why more than 500 government organizations including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration, Department of Defense, State of Indiana, and UK Parliament use GovDelivery DCM to create highly personalized, streamlined and engaging citizen communications. Visit us at govdelivery.com. reachthepublic.com youtube.com/govdelivery govloop.com GovDelivery 2012

Think Social, Act Local: Applying Social Media to Your Community Group

Think Social, Act Local: Applying Social Media to Your Community Group RI Land & Water Summit March 9, 2013 Our Roots what we do IMPROVING, not proving law of mobility collective knowledge idealware.org