Do other people’s tweets show up on my page? That’s a common first question from officials contemplating Twitter. And the ‘no’ answer is why, as social media use by politicians, officials and agencies goes increasingly mainstream, Twitter will beat out Facebook as platform of choice. This will hold true especially for official use, as publicRead… Read more »
Social media channels are powerful communication tools normally but when incorporated into your crisis action plan they can add a valuable weapon to the government public affairs arsenal. Two recent events on Army installations with very different results demonstrated this clearly. The reviews aren’t close to being done on all the things that went rightRead… Read more »
I think GovLoop could fill a niche right in-between the facebook level of government, and the City website. Let’s take the City of Saint Paul as an example, since I live there: Here is the City of Saint Paul website. Right on the home page, you see that the City of Saint Paul has aRead… Read more »
I have been a social media/networking advocate for the past year. I have really enjoyed seeing all the ways government has opened up and embraced using social M/N tools to enhance their communications with their constituents. However, many governments are still in the beginning stages of figuring out how to use the tools, create aRead… Read more »
I think one of the most compelling arguments to engage in the social media world for government public relations folks simply lies in being part of the conversation that is occurring already. This has always been obvious to me but it really came to mind while I attended the Department of Defense All Services SocialRead… Read more »
There are still plenty of locally elected folks, particularly those for whom elected office is not their ‘day job,’ who are ignoring new communications tools. So here’s a story that might help you change their minds. I thought I knew the potential of those tools … and then last Sunday, four police officers in myRead… Read more »
A significant difference between wikis created now and those created two-to-three years ago is the advent — and proliferation of — social media. Facebook is no longer used only by college kids, and Twitter results now show up on Google searches. What a change! In order to build a community, you must be able toRead… Read more »
You certainly can’t escape Twitter or Facebook these days — they always seem to be in the news, but have you seen them mentioned in job postings? Evidently this was the case in September if you were applying for Best Buy’s Senior Manager in emerging media marketing. Listed as one of the job’s “preferred requirements”Read… Read more »
In case anyone needs more reasons why investing time in social media should be strongly considered, especially at the local government level, I offer this case study (from my own view, of course). In the last three weeks, the H1N1 vaccine has been slowly rolling out to local jurisdictions. In Fairfax County, we’ve now hostedRead… Read more »
One of my guilty pleasures in life is “The Incredibles” from Disney/Pixar. There are so many great life lessons in there for adults as much as kids that I probably watch it more than my little ones do. As a public affairs professional I am constantly reminded of scenes from the movie in my dailyRead… Read more »