Monthly Theme: Building, Evaluating, and Improving Government Services Through Social Media

Jun 5, 2015

While examples of government social media content may initially seem like mere fun—the YouTube video of President Obama on Between Two Ferns or the Transportation Security Administration’s “good catch” pics of lipstick stun guns and batarangs—the potential of applied social data to build, evaluate and improve diverse citizen services is only increasing.

As we recently discussed on DigitalGov, social media tools are for more than one-way marketing and communication: they provide a connective, responsive capability to public services. We explored some of the biggest programs in government social media last year, from 3D printing and drones to disease tracking and the Internet of Things.

The SocialGov Community of Practice, including almost 1,000 federal managers from more than 160 federal programs, has been a leader in driving the adoption of emerging technologies and strategies that target the improvement of three capabilities: how government agencies interact and collaborate with the public, other agencies, and within their own organizations.

For example, in February, the Public Participation Playbook was released, providing agencies with a resource they can use to evaluate and build better programs that give a voice to the people they serve. Cyber-security for digital engagement is of increasing importance, so agencies worked together to develop and launch Readiness, Recovery, Response: Social Media Cyber-Vandalism Toolkit. Accessibility for people with disabilities is also a critical need, so agencies collaborated on Improving the Accessibility of Social Media in Government.

In June, we’re focusing on the role social media plays in federal agencies. Our theme articles will touch on a variety of topics, including:

Originally posted by Ashley Wichman on Jun 5, 2015
Originally posted by Justin Herman on Jun 5, 2015

GSA | Washington D.C.

Jun 5, 2015