What we’ve seen

Troy UniversityTammy Esteves, PhD

For the people, by the people, and from the people:

Using blogs and social media in public administration and civic engagement

Nancy VanLeuven, PhD, Presidio Graduate School

Deniz Leuenberger, PhD, Bridgewater State University

Danielle Newton, M.F.A., Presidio Graduate School

Tammy Esteves, PhD, Troy University



What we’ve seenWeb 2.0

Gov 2.0

Citizen 2.0



• What is Gov 2.0? According to CivicsPlus, government can engage social media users by:– Providing information through next-generation

means such as social media sites.– Inviting community feedback and participation

via blogs, wikis and other collaborative tools.– Advancing government transparency and

accountability efforts through increased citizen communication and access.


Focus• How e-platforms (such as Twitter,

Facebook, and others) enhance communications between government and their publics, and how agencies are coping with Government 2.0.

• Specifically, how information is framed for public consumption, how it is made available, and how it is timely and relevant in times of calm and crisis.


Research Methodology• Follows the methodological framework of

the 2001 Pew Internet and American Life project

• Interviews with city, regional, state, and federal officials

• Website analyses of standard messages and content about the Japanese earthquake.


Organizations• Five cities from the Pew study

(Austin, TX; Cleveland, OH; Nashville, TN; Portland, OR; and Washington D.C); and 17 cities from the Fels study (Ann Arbor, MI; Alexandria, VA: Boulder, CO; Boynton Beach, FL; Chandler, AZ; Huntsville, AL; Madison, WI; Mesa, AZ; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Richmond, VA (Police Department); San Jose, CA; Santa Clarita, CA: Tampa, FL; West Palm Beach, FL; and Winston-Salem, NC).

• Four regional councils of government: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; Mid-Region Council of Governments of New Mexico; and the Southern California Association of Governments.

• Ten states selected based on geography sampling and social media presence: Alabama; California; Colorado; Kansas; Michigan; Ohio; Oklahoma; Tennessee; Vermont; and Washington.


Organizations, continued• Nine federal agencies included:

Department of Defense; Department of Education; Environmental Protection Agency; Housing and Urban Development; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Department of State; and the White House.

• Government and Social Media (GovSM) wiki that is a federal resource for agencies.

• Altogether, a total of 42 governmental agencies were examined for social media presence based on website content and textual analyses, as well as interviews from spokespeople.


What is social media?• MySpace, Facebook, MeetUp• Blogs (allow two-way participation)• Tweets• Real-time updates, RSS feeds• Yelp• LinkedIn• YouTube• GovLoop• TFCN

“LinkedIn is about people you know, Facebook is about people you used to know; and Twitter is about people you want to know.” (Jay Baer)


Taking it a step further• HootSuite• Ushahidi, SwiftRiver, even GoogleMaps• Skyttle Friends tracks conversations,

analyzes sentiments, and measures key metrics on any Facebook page.

• Livebuzz is another tool used to monitor conversations that are occurring in social media on your name/brand/organization.



Six key goals in using social media

Invest

Initiate

Integrate

Inspire

Influence

Reflect


Ten community recommendations

• Public Participation• Public Access• Citizen and Colleague

Engagement• Citizen Governance• Community Building

• Volunteerism• Disaster Management• Emergency

Information• Sustainability

Programs• Social Activity


Some Resources• CivicsPlus

– APP – Citizen Request Tracker• “Bringing big city functionality to more than 680

communities across North America”

• The ultimate source for tools: Go2Web20


Citizen Request Tracker App Screenshots


Practice what we teach• While we are preparing students to use

social media as administrators, we can set an example by using social media in our MPA programs.– Teach as a skill; use to connect students

• Wiki group assignments• Blog journals, feedback• LinkedIn for advisees & alums


Closing Thoughts• “Social Media is about sociology and

psychology more than technology.” (Brain Solis Principal of FutureWorks)

• “Focus on how to be social, not how to do social.” (Jay Baer)

• “I hear YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are merging to form a super-social media site – YouTwitFace.” – Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show, June 2nd, 2009


Questions? Tweet me!• Email – [email protected]

• Twitter - @tlesteves

• LinkedIn – Tammy Esteves

Documents

What we’ve seen