Government & Social Media

1. Government& Social Media Carol A. Spencer Special Projects Manager Morris County Information Technology Division Public Information Techniques Public Safety Academy June 11, 2009

2. Social Media & Government • What is social media? • Is social media a fad? • What do all those terms mean? • What are all those little graphics? • How is government using social media? • Who creates and maintains it? • Where can I learn how to use it?

3. Social Media: What is it? • primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information (Wikipedia) • the use of technology combined with social interaction to create or co-create value (John Jantsch, ducktapemarketing.com) • online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author (Joseph Thornley,propa.ca) • a category of practices, technology, tools, and online sites that are based in social relationships, participation, and user-generated content (Liz Strauss, successful-blog.com) • shift in how people discover, read, and share news and information and content...a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologue (one to many) into dialog (many to many) (Brian Solis, webpronews.com)

4. The Shift Newspaper readership is plummeting • New York Times readership DOWN 4.5% • Wall Street Journal readership DOWN 1.5% • On average: Paid Circulation (M-F) DOWN 2.6% • On average: Paid Circulation (Sun) DOWN 3.5% Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, six months ending Nov. 2007

5. The Growth of the Web • 1998:  2,851,000 websites • 2000:  7,399,000 websites • 2002:  9,040,000 websites • 2006: 100 million and growing at a rate of 3.5 to 4 million per month Source: Online Computer Library Center

6. Living on-line Getting and using information: • 75% of adults (18+) get health information online • 71% shop online • 55% bank online And key for us….. • 59% visit government sites Source: PewInternet.org,

7. Is Social Media a fad? Accessing Information • Total US population is 306 million people • 57 million blog readers in the US • 39% of Internet users read blogs in 2007, up from 27% in 2006 • 35% of adult Internet users have a social networking profile (up from 8% in 2005) Going Mobile: • 11.3 million people used mobile data searches last year • These searches did not include phone numbers or directory assist • 35 million people use mobile web, accessing websites on their phones • 12 million people watch video on their phones Source: PewInternet.org,

8. Will it last? Accessing Information • Total US population is 306 million people • 57 million blog readers in the US • 39% of Internet users read blogs in 2007, up from 27% in 2006 • 35% of adult Internet users have a social networking profile (up from 8% in 2005) Going Mobile: • 11.3 million people used mobile data searches last year • These searches did not include phone numbers or directory assist • 35 million people use mobile web, accessing websites on their phones • 12 million people watch video on their phones Source: PewInternet.org,

9. The World is Getting Smaller

10. The World in Your Hand You know you all want one….. Or, already have one….

11. RSS Feeds Blogs Widgets Video / Photo Sharing Social Networking Social News Sites Podcasting Wikis Virtual Worlds Mashups Social Media Terminology All of these technologies have been created for the purpose of sharing information

12. The Social Media Icon Family Social Media icons are just logos for specific applications

13. RSS Feeds: Real Simple Syndication When new information is added to a page, it is sent to subscribers.

14. Feedburner: Create and Track Your Feed

15. Feedburner: Creates the code for you

16. What the subscriber sees in a reader…. Feedly, Itunes, Google Reader among others

17. The Advantages of Using RSS • Subscribers don’t have to keep visiting a website to get information. • Subscribers decide what information they want to receive. • Subscribers decide where they want information delivered. • Subscribers can receive information instantly. • You know your information is being read.

18. Blogs: Conversing with your Constituents It’s okay for government to blog. The Federal Government has more than 50.

19. Why Blog? • Blogs get your message out and they are free. • Blogs put a human face on government. • Blogs are a sign of openness and a willing to accept criticism. Both increase trust. • Blogs increase your opportunities to interact with constituents. • People are naturally suspicious and fearful of what they don’t understand. Blogs help people understand their government. • Blogs let you know what people are thinking. • Blogs are a great source of new ideas.

20. Think Before You Blog • What will you blog about? • Who will write your blog entries? Will you require levels of approval? • How often will you blog? Can you blog often enough to keep reader interest? • What will your blog policy be? Your linking policy? • Will you allow public comment? Blogs don’t have to include comments. • Don’t blog anything you don’t want to read on the front page of the NY Times.

21. Blogs: Set Boundaries and Enforce Them SET RULES: “This is a moderated blog. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting.” • NOT ACCEPTABLE: • Personal attacks (on both officers and passengers) • Profanity (and I thought some sailors knew how to curse) • Long embedded url strings (only because it messes up the format of the blog) • Threats (enough said on this one) • Duplicate posts (hitting submit 12 times won't make the comment appear any faster) • Off-topic comments (and since we can't tell which topic a comment goes under when we moderate, we mean REALLY off topic, think plagues of locust off topic…) • Sensitive information (TSA folks explaining exact procedures that could aid someone wishing to do us harm) • Other than that, all's fair in love and blogging. Source: http://www.tsa.gov/blog

22. Blogs: What’s There to Talk About? • Employee news items: trips, community contributions, unique talents • Timely topics pertinent to your audience: new ordinances, changes in school policies. Explain why. • Procedures: What happens at a Bd of Ed meeting? What’s the difference between the Zoning and Planning Boards? How to reserve recreation facilities. • Useful Information: Recycling policies, Adopt a Hydrant, new “pick up routes” at the schools • Elected Officials: Who they are. Their perspective on things happening around town. • Meet the Bloggers: Let people know who is writing, add a photo, why they like / want to blog.

23. Widgets: Putting Their Info on Your Site

24. The World of Widgets • Yahoo Widgetshttp://widgets.yahoo.com/ • US Government “Gadget Gallery”http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries/Gadget_Gallery.shtml • State of Virginia Widgetshttp://www.virginia.gov/cmsportal3/ • Widgetboxhttp://www.widgetbox.com/tag/government • Article: Government Using Widgetshttp://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/03/government_usin.html Small graphical applications that run on your website. Widgets can be interactive or provide links to relevant content.

25. Sharing Photos and Video Video • YouTube • Vimeo • Motion Box • MANY more…. Live Streaming • UStream.TV Stills • Flickr • Photobucket • webshots There are a LOT of these sites. Search, read terms & conditions, watch for metered bandwidth, who owns video, etc.

26. The Big Names….

27. The Big Names…. Facebook Twitter YouTube Flikr

28. Why Use Facebook or Twitter Unique Visitor Count – Fastest Growing Member Community Sites Source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/twitters-tweet-smell-of-success/

29. Why Use Facebook or Twitter In April ’09, Twitter passed the NY Times in web visitors. Source: http://industry.bnet.com/media/10001662/compete-twitter-passes-new-york-times/

30. Why Use Facebook or Twitter Facebook vs MySpace vs Twitter Source: http://industry.bnet.com/media/10001662/compete-twitter-passes-new-york-times/

31. Facebook Users • New Users Dec ’07 to Dec ’08 • 7.3 million aged 2 to 17 • 22.8 million aged 18 to 34 • 24.1 million aged 35 to 49 • 13.6 million aged 50 to 64 • 3.2 million aged 65+ • Mobile Facebook • 10.6 million users in the US alone • 156% increase in one year Source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/social-networking-new-global-footprint/

32. Facebook Demographics Source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/social-networking-new-global-footprint/

33. Facebook Explosion • Facebook has hit 200 million active users only seven months after the social network hit 100 million users and 90 days after reaching 150 million. • On average, Facebook has added 500,000new members a day since late August • If it were a country, the site would be the fifth most populous, larger than Brazil and Japan. Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=103704

34. Twitter

35. Twitter • Micro-blogging • Text message limit is 160 characters • Twitter limit is 140 characters • Easy to scan and determine if you want to read more • Send and/or receive via web or mobile • Information anywhere, any time Source: http://industry.bnet.com/media/10001662/compete-twitter-passes-new-york-times/

36. How Twitterers Get their News Source: PewInternet.org

37. Managing & Maintaining Social Media Have Policies • Internet Terms of Use • Privacy • Accessibility • Linking • Social Networking Use • Intranet Terms of Use Have Structure • Limit who can blog, tweet, and post on Facebook • Use RSS feeds to automate tweets and Facebook postings • Be sure administration has usernames and passwords for all applications • Assign responsible party to keep an eye on postings

38. Social Media Resources* RSS Feeds: feedburner.com Feed Readers: feedly.com, reader.google.com, itunes.com Blogs: blogger.com, wordpress.com Widgets: usa.gov, widgets.yahoo.com, widgetbox.com Photo Sharing: Flickr.com, webshots.com, photobucket.com Video Sharing: Youtube.com, vimeo.com, motionbox.com Live Video Streaming: UStream.tv Social Networking: Facebook.com, MySpace.com Twitter: Twitter.com *There are more companies that provide these services. This list represents solutions we have evaluated in the past.

39. Government Resources USA.gov: list of Federal blogs, widgets, and more WebContent.gov: lots of information about social media and gov’t GovLoop.com: Social Network for government employees NAGW.org: National Association of Government Webmasters GoWProNJ.net: Gov’t Web Professionals of NJ

40. Government Examples Montgomery County MD: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Podcasts Allen County ID:http://www.allencounty.us/blog/archives/tag/facebookFacebook, Twitter, Blog Roanoke County VA: http://www.roanokecountyva.gov/Twitter, Facebook, RSS, Video Morris County NJ:http://co.morris.nj.usTwitter, RSS, Video

41. Learning Web 2.0 Website

42. Sharing Information Internally

43. co.morris.nj.us/learning20/resources.asp Carol A. Spencer Special Projects Manager Morris County Information Technology Division Public Information Techniques Public Safety Academy June 11, 2009