In order to foster better dialogue between government agencies and the individuals they serve, encourage and foster the use of Social Media. Reduce the restrictions currently placed on government employees in accessing various social media sites, and allow departments and individuals to extend the voice of the government to the people through various new media outlets. For those agencies dealing with public health messaging specifically, encourage personal interaction with individuals to promote healthy living.
Social Media and the Government
Tags: social media web 2.0 new media
Comments (5)
Are you saying that giving government organizations a Facebook page will somehow solve problems? Pray tell, what problems is Facebook equipped to solve?
No, merely making a Facebook page (or engaging in any other social media outlet) won't solve a thing. There are, however, some really useful and interesting ways to dialogue with the general public using Social Media. With numbers of those involved in this space growing as they are, I think it will be important for the Government agencies to utilize them.
What we're doing right now is pretty effective, I'd say. And it's social media.
OK, I understand better now. When I think of "social media" I think of stuff like Twitter and Facebook. While those technologies can be used to contact people who are interested in government, in terms of participation they're no better than simply putting a news page on the agency website. If you mean petition sites like this one, though, I agree that they are quite effective.
Using social media is a fine idea. Most importantly, it will enable government to reach a broader and younger audience. The old have an inordinate amount of influence and representation in our goverment. The best way to encourage broad-reaching change, innovation and reduction in wasteful processes is to encourage people to think of government - and public service as a whole - as "cool" again, as it was in the late-50s and early 60s.
What restrictions are their on politicians engaging in Social Media? I want you to be more specific.