Using social media in government
March 10, 2010 2:09 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for examples of U.S. federal agencies effectively using social media. I'm particularly interested in those that do not have critical, consistent need to use social media (as CDC, USAID or FEMA do). State or Canadian provincial agencies would be of interest, too, but here also I'm looking for non-critical need.
Thanks!
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has a twitter account and a blog that's pretty good (previously on mefi).
posted by bewilderbeast at 2:52 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by bewilderbeast at 2:52 PM on March 10, 2010
Take a look at the Shory Award #government category nominees and winners. The winner in that category by a wide margin was NASA.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 3:05 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by QuantumMeruit at 3:05 PM on March 10, 2010
A significant number of federal agencies have Facebook pages, including the Departments of State, Justice, Agriculture, Labor, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, as well as the FCC, FAA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife Service, and I could keep going.
Whether or not any of those are effective is subjective. The vast majority of them have fans numbering in the low five figures, no more than 30k. But lots of federal agencies have Facebook pages. Do a quick search and you'll find them.
Notable ones that do not include Treasury, Interior, and Transportation.
posted by valkyryn at 3:23 PM on March 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
Whether or not any of those are effective is subjective. The vast majority of them have fans numbering in the low five figures, no more than 30k. But lots of federal agencies have Facebook pages. Do a quick search and you'll find them.
Notable ones that do not include Treasury, Interior, and Transportation.
posted by valkyryn at 3:23 PM on March 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is on Twitter.
The National Conference of State Legislatures is on Twitter and also keeps lists of state execs and legislatures who are on Twitter. Many states have IT departments who are on Twitter.
My understanding from talking at length to state and local government officials about their respective agencies' presence (or lack thereof) on social media networks is that there are serious FOIA concerns, especially in venues like Facebook where the user controls less of the exchange (as opposed to Twitter, which can be a one-way push and dialogue isn't required).
posted by pineapple at 3:38 PM on March 10, 2010
The National Conference of State Legislatures is on Twitter and also keeps lists of state execs and legislatures who are on Twitter. Many states have IT departments who are on Twitter.
My understanding from talking at length to state and local government officials about their respective agencies' presence (or lack thereof) on social media networks is that there are serious FOIA concerns, especially in venues like Facebook where the user controls less of the exchange (as opposed to Twitter, which can be a one-way push and dialogue isn't required).
posted by pineapple at 3:38 PM on March 10, 2010
I'm reminded of the "TSA Took My Son!" brouhaha. Harried Mom who was so devestated by the strong-arm behavior of TSA agents at the Atlanta airport that she had to pop an emergency Xanax. Her story quickly became viral enough for the TSA to investigate it and post a rebuttal on their website.
posted by Oriole Adams at 3:55 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by Oriole Adams at 3:55 PM on March 10, 2010
The Library of Congress has a Facebook page and their updates are pretty great.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:13 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:13 PM on March 10, 2010
The Department of State blog/social media integration is pretty good, albeit somewhat impersonal.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has a facebook page that is actively updated. They do a pretty decent job of posting things, and they communicate back when people make comments. The Director, Vice Admiral Wieringa, has an active blog. From what I understand, he takes a personal interest in what's on the blog - it's not just marketing copy posted by some flunky.
posted by gemmy at 9:44 PM on March 10, 2010
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has a facebook page that is actively updated. They do a pretty decent job of posting things, and they communicate back when people make comments. The Director, Vice Admiral Wieringa, has an active blog. From what I understand, he takes a personal interest in what's on the blog - it's not just marketing copy posted by some flunky.
posted by gemmy at 9:44 PM on March 10, 2010
I follow the FDA CDRH Twitter feed. I think it's pretty useful for people in the medical device industry. They post things a few times a day.
posted by hammurderer at 7:43 AM on March 11, 2010
posted by hammurderer at 7:43 AM on March 11, 2010
The recovery board (stimulus oversight) has facebook and twitter.
http://www.facebook.com/recoverydotgov
http://twitter.com/RecoveryDotGov
posted by anti social order at 11:34 AM on March 11, 2010
http://www.facebook.com/recoverydotgov
http://twitter.com/RecoveryDotGov
posted by anti social order at 11:34 AM on March 11, 2010
Response by poster: OK, let me also open this up to Canadian national, Aussie, New Zealand, and U.K. sites, some of which I use at work. I just need English-language sites.
posted by jgirl at 5:18 PM on March 11, 2010
posted by jgirl at 5:18 PM on March 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by anastasiav at 2:12 PM on March 10, 2010