government social media

Having a social media presence on the Internet such as a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Flickr, is becoming increasingly important for anyone especially those in business.  But is there value in social media for community government?  Based on the research I completed, I would have to say YES!

This past January a group of individuals from differing governmental offices in Ohio came to the Government Social Media Conference.  While some of the groups are still figuring out the benefits and how it fits their community, there were others that immediately got it and have implemented some strategies that were right on.

Before I give examples of some of the good, I would like to say a few things to anyone who might be reading this.

• Celebrate Experimentation - It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time. For reasons too numerous to mention people think they need to have the perfect social media strategy before they try anything but that simply isn’t the case.  If you aren’t sure what to do or how to use the tool don’t just wait until it comes to you, do something, anything and see what happens.  If people don’t like it, they’ll tell you and you can rework your strategy.

• Reasonably Commit– Implementing a social media strategy will take time and commitment.  If you aren’t sure how much time you can commit, that’s okay.  Figure out what you can do and start there.  Maybe the depth of your commitment is posting to Facebook one time a week.  That’s all right, start there.  As you figure out what you are doing, it will get easier and you’ll most likely find that you want to, especially as people start to respond.

With that said, we’ll move on to the good.  

There was a lot of great stuff I saw as I looked over the different Pages that were put together.  The City of Dublin, Ohio has a great Facebook Page and it was stellar to see how they were using their Facebook Pages to keep the community informed with what was going on in the city.  On the OSU Medical Center Page someone asked about hotels in the area and he got an answer!  On the Canal Winchester page there was a discussion on the pool closing early this year.  It’s not shocking that people would talk about the pool closing but it’s great the City allowed it on their Page.  After all, isn’t that the sort of feedback they want to hear?

I found some wonderful examples in the Twitter-sphere also.  

• The City of Columbus did a great job of showing what is going on all over Columbus.  
• MORPC did a great job of educating its followers on using the # to create a hashtag to follow what’s going on at #morpc.

The list of good goes on and on.  The fact that any of these groups are developing a social media presence is a big deal and deserves to be commended.  The challenges can feel huge but these groups took the challenge and are showing that there is a use for social media for the local government and it brings a lot of value to the community.  

As for the bad, what can I say that was bad? There are things that could use improvement such as making sure all of the social media sites are easy to find from the website, and conversely, including website links on Facebook and Twitter.  With that said, all efforts of building an online community through social media deserve to be commended.

Now if I could only get my small little borough in Bucks County, PA to take the hint and implement a social media strategy of their own.  Maybe I should get them to show up to the next Government Social Conference in Columbus in March of 2011!

If you have an option to hear from "expert" or hear from someone who deals with the same challenges as you do, what would you choose?

Because we believe we all learn more when we participate than when we are passive listeners, ShinyDoor and MORPC organized the Government Social Media Conference as an interactive event. 80 participants learned from each other, figured out which Ohio government agencies are doing what in regards to social media, and got to know each other.

The "got to know each other" piece is super important. The biggest issue we heard at the conference is needing to convince management of the value of social media. Government employees (regardless of being state, local, large or small) need real examples of other government agencies experimenting with social media and struggling with the same challenges (such as access to online applications, time requirements, public records laws, message control).

The participants did not paint a rosy social media picture. They painted a realistic picture. Multiple folks explained how they ended up experimenting with social media. The story told by Scott Varner of ODOT was particularly entertaining (and genuine!). He shared a Cleveland Plain Dealer article in which ODOT was hung out to dry for not using social media. After the article came out, Scott was inundated with friends, colleagues and the general public telling him to join the new digital world and offering to assist ODOT. Where are they now? Six months later? They have a 3C Passenger Rail Facebook Page promoting a passenger rail system and 6 regional Twitter accounts posting winter weather road conditions and a YouTube channel.

For us, holding an interactive conference meant going beyond Q&A. The day held only one panel of speakers and one powerpoint (which, btw, was created by the City of Dublin and is fabulous). The rest of the day included roundtable discussions (facilitated by social media practioners), a Facebook Face Off between Mid-Ohio Foodbank and COSI, an informal discussion of setting up Twitter at an event and Q&A with Sheriff Jones of Butler County via video.

Everything we did came with an explanation so as to be a learning experience for the attendees. After Sheriff Jones participated via ustream from a law enforcement conference in Washington DC, we explained the logistical details:

1. Sheriff Jones does not have a laptop with a webcam so a friend of mine (Mickey) who lives in DC met the sheriff at his hotel with a web cam enabled laptop.
2. The video with the sheriff streamed live (via ustream) so anyone could participate.
3. Mickey is a techie but the way we set it up did not require IT skills.
4. The ustream is super simple to set up. An account is needed but its free.
5. Anyone watching while the video streamed live could ask the sheriff questions.
6. We could have used Skype. We did not so that folks who wanted to participate but were not physically at the Government Social Media Conference could easily do so.
7. We meant to record the video. We forgot. :-)

Recurring themes we heard:

• Our IT does not understand and does not want to understand social media so we figure it out ourselves.
• We are blocked from using Facebook, Twitter and many other online applications.
• We had to get special permission to get a Blackberry.
• We've been working on a social media policy. For a long time.
• I wish my boss were here.

What did we hear near the end of the day? "What's next?, Will there be another event? Can I get a list of the attendees and their contact info?"

An email we received from Karen Fahy, Community Relations Specialist at the City of Grove City -
"Fantastic event today! We really learned a lot from the presentations as well as the communication we had with participants! Thank you for putting together a great conference." 

So, yes, we will hold additional avents and we will arrange a means for the participant to continue to talk to each other. Unfortunately since many government agencies block social networking tools, whatever communication we choose will need to be one allowed by government IT departments. We're thinking a listserv. I kid you not.

Tweet, Post, Comment: Engaging Ohioans Online

What: A one day interactive conference discussing government successes, challenges and strategies for using social media to engage and educate the community. Social media is being integrated into all aspects of our society and government is no exception. Since social media encourages us to build relationships, its only fitting for a social media conference to do the same. Come prepared to participate both in person and online. Bring your questions, your ideas and your PDAs!

Date: January 22, 2010

Location: Dublin Rec Center, 5600 Post Road, Dublin, OH 43017

Cost: $60/person, includes breakfast and lunch

Registration is now closed. If you would like to attend, please contact Angela.

Agenda:

8:30-9:30     Registration & Bagel Mingle

8:30-9:00     Live demo of Twitter set up for event

9:00-9:30     Facebook Face Off between Mid-Ohio Foodbank and COSI

9:30-9:35     Welcome

9:35-10:30   Why Social Media for Outreach & Advocacy - Panelists: Laura Koprowski of MORPC, Christa Dickey of City of Westerville, & Scott Varner of ODOT. Moderated by Angela Siefer of ShinyDoor.

10:35-11:35  Morning Roundtable Discussions

11:40-12:15  Open Networking Lunch

12:15-12:35  Lunch Presentation by City of Dublin

12:35-12:45  Blackberry Break

12:45-1:45    Afternoon Roundtable Discussions

2:00-2:30      Richard K. Jones, Sheriff of Butler County, speaking to us via Ustream from Washington DC.

2:45-3:45      Free Social Media Clinic

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