Social Media

Trends on Tuesday: Let’s Talk Connected Devices

Mobile Future recently released this infographic about the proliferation of connected devices. Among the key data points: Today, there are 10 billion connected devices. By 2020, data from connected devices will more than double all global Internet traffic in 2012. Traffic

Lisa Gelobter

Oct 22, 2013

PEW Report: Trends in Digital News

A report by the PEW Research Center, 12 trends for shaping digital news, looks at how the internet and digital devices are changing news consumption habits. While half of all Americans still prefer to get their news from

Lisa Nelson

Oct 18, 2013

Hosting Successful Federal Twitter Chats

One way to leverage Twitter, beyond the basics of sending messages and engaging in dialogue, is to organize a Town Hall discussion, or Twitter chat. New guidance on preparing a live chat is now available, and we need your agencies to contribute your own policies

Justin Herman

Oct 17, 2013

Twitter Chat Guidance for Federal Agencies

A Twitter town hall, or Twitter chat, is an event where agencies invite public engagement for a scheduled time period during which users can ask questions or find out more information about a topic via Twitter, much like a webinar. The questions are tagged

Justin Herman

Oct 16, 2013

Best Week Ever in #SocialGov: 2

(This is the second installment of an ongoing series charting the programs, events and people that make the emerging field of social media and data in government From where I sit, I think we just had a great week in #socialgov. From a sold-out international forum that demonstrated how we can use free tools to

Justin Herman

Sep 30, 2013

Tackling PII in Electronic Data

As non-lawyers peering into the legal world, be advised this post is not official legal advice from the Office of General Counsel. These are our impressions and what we took away from the Legal Learning Series session Social Media – Privacy, Records and Litigation.

Tim Lowden

Sep 23, 2013

Privacy Policies, Terms of Service, and PIAs! Oh My!

Guest post by Cheryl Hackley who works in the Office of Public Affairs at the Federal Trade Commission. From my early days of using email, sites like MySpace, and later getting my first smartphone, it was a common practice for me to

Cheryl Hackley

Sep 20, 2013

Best Week in SocialGov Ever: 1

(This is the first installment of an ongoing series charting the programs, events and people that make the emerging field of social media and data in government an exciting place to serve the public. Agencies are encouraged to submit their own stories for this travelogue of digital innovation.) From where I sit, I think we

Justin Herman

Sep 18, 2013

A sure way to drive employees crazy is to never share what executives discuss or decide until a new mandate lands on the organization’s collective head. While senior leaders should expect some privacy in decision-making and debate, they should also expect to openly hold themselves accountable and to make sure their employees know where the

David Hebert

Sep 10, 2013

Better Performance and Metric Downloads Now Available From Go.USA.gov

A few weeks ago, the Go.USA.gov URL shortener introduced several new features to improve the user experience. Go.USA.gov now offers users faster speeds and downloadable metric information about their links. The service, which launched in 2009, gives government agencies the ability to provide trustworthy shortened links to their audience. Just

Michelle Chronister

Sep 04, 2013

SocialGov Summit Diagnoses Viral Gov

Agencies discuss how to make social media programs more sharable and engaging.

Justin Herman

Aug 13, 2013

Thunderclap Now Available for Government-Wide Adoption

Thunderclap is the latest social media and crowd-sourcing platform available to federal agencies to better engage with the public, with a newly negotiated government-compatible Terms of Service (TOS) agreement. GSA collaborated with Thunderclap to negotiate the amended terms, which brings the total number of tools with federal-compatible agreements to 66.

Betsy Steele

Aug 05, 2013

Trends on Tuesday: Uprise of SMS Marketing

MobileMarketingWatch recently published an article on how the SMS marketing world is changing. Due to its popularity, SMS has evolved into one of the most effective mobile marketing strategies. Improves Relevance for All: Marketers tailor campaigns to a variety of interests in order

Rachel Hurley

Jul 23, 2013

Moderating a Government Blog

Guest post by Curtis Robert Burns, better known as Blogger Bob, at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As a blogger for TSA I believe moderating blog comments always comes down to an understanding of your employer’s mission, audience, and your

Blogger Bob

Jul 22, 2013

Digital Metrics for Federal Agencies

Digital metrics are critical for measuring, analyzing, and reporting on the effectiveness of your Web, mobile, social media, and other digital channels. Every agency should have a metrics strategy to measure performance, customer satisfaction, and engagement, and use the data to make continuous improvements to serve its customers. Part 1: Common Metrics: Guidance, Best Practices, and

Marina Fox

Jul 15, 2013

Instagram Now Available for Federal Agencies

Instagram is the latest mobile and social media tool available to federal, state and local governments to better engage with the public, with a newly negotiated government-compatible Terms of Service (TOS) agreement. GSA collaborated with Instagram to negotiate the amended terms, which brings the total number of

Betsy Steele

Jul 08, 2013

USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov have been engaging with the public on social media long before Mayor Cory Booker underscored the need at this year’s SXSW. In January 2010, we began to respond to questions and comments on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. We never advertised the service, but people naturally

Michelle Chronister

Jul 02, 2013

Guest post by Mario Damiani, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the Department of Labor. ODEP spearheads the Social Media Accessibility Working Group within the Federal Social Media Community of Practice. The working group recently released a toolkit for agencies to make their content more accessible for citizens with disabilities, including recommendations from agencies

Mario Damiani

Jun 26, 2013

Are you a small or even one-deep government social media team who wonders how with limited resources you can still deliver the program citizens need? Do you have a larger team but still want to know how you can roll up your sleeves and make a change? If either

Justin Herman

Jun 12, 2013

YouTube Releases New Features

YouTube recently upgraded to the new One Channel design. The new design emphasizes responsive layouts for mobile devices, tablets, desktops and laptops, and TVs. A single banner on a white background replaces a customizable background and color scheme. YouTube recommends using a single 2560 x 1440 px image that fits

Jason Kelly

Jun 07, 2013

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