If you’ve been following the conversations at South by Southwest
this week, you know there’s been some spirited debate about
government’s use of social media. From our vantage point looking
across the federal social media landscape, we’ve made big
advances in adopting emerging social technologies. But there’s
no doubt about the untapped potential for social media as a
public service and building awareness of how agencies are using
these tools. Like many of the public servants at SXSW this year,
Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, NJ underscored the need for
government to use social media as an interactive, collaborative
platform — not just an “announcement system, like you used to
listen to in class: the cafeteria will be serving roast beef,
and I will be at this place or that place.” We couldn’t agree
more. We’d like to take this opportunity to show how agencies
engage with citizens through social media to improve services,
and share ideas for how all of government can do better. Social
media in government should e