Category: Gov’t & Technology
3 Earthquake Takeaways for Government & Social Media
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This afternoon there was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that had it’s epicenter in VA.
We felt it here in the office and within moments of it happening, I checked Twitter. What did I find? Multiple people that I follow had already said they felt it in DC and elsewhere. This was before the mainstream news websites would have had any information on it – well before the newspaper for tomorrow has come out.
I also quickly checked the USGS’ website to see if they had any information on it and they sure did!
So what can governments learn from this? (I get some of this from Steve Ressler’s point in this post on GovLoop, “What Tools Government Needs in an Earthquake“)
Here’s some ideas:
Be where THEY are!
- You need to be in places that you will be heard quickly. These need to be outlets where your citizens are and regularly frequent for news and official (or unofficial information). If they don’t hear your message, the rest pointless. Whether that is Twitter, Facebook, through an email list, or someplace else where people go for breaking news.
Be Official!
- People are talking about it – whether you are or not. And they may have inaccurate information. You need to be out there with correct and trustworthy information.
Be Fast!
- Like I said, I found out info about the earthquake within moments of it happening – from sources who didn’t know what the earthquakes’ magnitude was, if there might be an aftershock, etc. You have to be quick to get information out there. The USGS was pretty fast. They had data about the earthquake available almost instantly on their website and they Tweeted about it on Twitter within minutes of it.
More Observations…
- Jeffry Levy (@levyj413 on Twitter) has an interesting observation about the USGS Tweets on Twitter.
- “USGS crowd sources earthquake reports“
USGS crowd sources earthquake reports
Gov't & Technology, News & Events
Social Media: The Norm
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I came across an article today that I thought brought up an obvious (but much needed) point. The article says that CIO of Michigan gave a presentation and “[stated] that Online tools and social media are now the norm.”
This is an important point that government officials who are resistant to using social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc) need to understand: this isn’t something unusual. It’s what citizens and businesses use on a regular basis.
It’s also valid to point out that, as a government, you won’t be one of the first to use them… so you can learn from others’ successes (and mistakes).
Are Facebook and Twitter new concepts? Sort of… but communication and relationship building was happening way before these platforms came along. They’re just new places to communicate and build relationships. And, they happen to be what many citizens and businesses are using to connect with each other.
And if your citizens (and businesses) are using social media to connect and share information… why shouldn’t you at least consider it?
Yes, you’ll need to first understand the legal side of things and have a plan going into it. But, you won’t be the first to have done so.
What do you think? Does your local government use social media to effectively communicate? Let us know in the comment section below…
Gov't & Technology, Local Government
Tips on Improving Government Websites
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On Tuesday, the White House held a Q & A about Improving Federal Websites. BUT, there are takeaways and ideas that local governments and state agencies can gain from this discussion (see below the video).
According to the White House Blog:
“For the first time, the federal government has published the list of all .gov domains managed by federal executive branch agencies– all 1759 of them!
Before today, no one – except for the few folks who manage the .gov registry – has had a clear picture of what our federal web space looks like. Now, anyone can see how many different domains and websites agencies manage, what topics they cover, which sites may duplicate or overlap with others, and which sites are no longer being actively maintained. As part of President Obama’s Executive Order on Customer Service and Campaign to Cut Waste, we can identify and consolidate unnecessary websites, saving money and providing better service to the American public.” (source: from the blog post, “Campaign to Cut Waste: .gov Effort to Improve Federal Websites” by Sheila Campbell)
“White House Director of Digital Strategy Macon Phillips, Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and Director of the GSA’s Center for Excellence in Digital Government Sheila Campbell discuss ways to improve the online experience with Federal websites and the campaign to reduce the number of excess and duplicative government websites.”
(if you can’t see the video for some reason, try it directly on the White House’s website)
Some ideas and takeaways for local governments to consider:
- Be prepared for making your site mobile-ready
- Include search capability for the site (have a search-bar).
- Check website analytics… don’t pour money into pages that don’t get visits.
- Multiple domain names from one government mean that you’re competing with yourself for search engine results.
- Make sure that top tasks are featured prominently on the homepage.
- Find (and delete) duplicated content.
- Collaborate with content creators (those who will be contributing to the government website).
- HowTo.gov shares best practices with federal, state, and local web managers.
According to their website, “HowTo.gov is for anyone who manages or supports (directly or indirectly) a government customer service channel. This includes anyone who manages a government website or call center; communicates with the public via social media; manages or supports their agency’s IT operations; writes or edits content for web or print publication; or manages customer service operations in any program area.”
Also, “HowTo.gov is a website to help government workers deliver a better customer experience to citizens. It’s about sharing new ideas, common challenges, lessons learned, and successes across government. HowTo.gov can help you work smarter, whether you’re on the “front lines” of government customer service; you manage a customer service channel; or you support customers through new media, open government, cloud computing, communications, innovation, or in some other way. HowTo.gov provides the tools and ideas you need to effectively serve, engage, and support your customers, no matter how they choose to interact with you.”
They also offer “practices, training, and guidance on:
- Strategic planning and coordinating customer service channels;
- Federal web requirements and policies;
- Cloud computing, apps, data and web infrastructure tools;
- Online citizen engagement through social media and open government;
- Web content management, usability, and design; and
- Contact center services.”
Have any other ideas? Add them to the comments below!
#GOV20 Takeaways from the Space Shuttle’s Final Launch
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There’s more than one way to look at Friday’s historic final launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135). What can local, state, or other government agencies learn from how NASA handled the event?
Here are just some ways that NASA used the web to both build it’s brand and provide visitors with information that they were looking for. Also, don’t miss the photo collection from the event at the end of this post!
Click the titles to go to that part of the post…
Content and Accessibility
Landing Page
When you visited NASA.gov around launch-time, you didn’t have to go far for the content that you were (probably) looking for regarding the Space Shuttle. NASA had a redirect setup to take you to a landing page for STS-135 with live video of the event front-and-center. On this same page, they had columns for other relevant video, images, and some live-blogging of the events. Some time after the launch, they had another landing page (photo) setup that provided more links to resources about STS-135.
The Takeaway? Make it very easy for people to find the content that they’re looking for.
This takes us back to the quote that we linked to from our coverage of Space Shuttle Endeavor’s final launch (STS-134) from the middle of May:
Making important agency information easy to find online can also be a key factor in improving the agency’s public image, said General Services Administration digital government specialist Sheila Campbell. (from the article “Open government requires accessibility, not just data, specialists say” on nextgov.com)
Video and Replays
Video in multiple forms
There were multiple ways to view the Space Shuttle’s launch. NASA TV had it covered, so if you had that channel on TV you could watch it. Other TV stations covered the event as well, but not to the extent that NASA TV did. News channels have more things to cover than just this event. They move on to other stories. So how can people who want more information find it out? How about straight from the source… NASA.
The Takeaway? Provide coverage of the event yourself. This way, the media can’t cut your message short. If people want to see all of what happened – in context – then provide it to them. It will also help build loyalty between you and your citizens because it helps them feel like they’re a part of it.
Replays
They also had a video clip from the launch available within hours. Not only did they have live video of the event, but immediately after it was over, they showed replays from a wide variety of cool camera angles (see screen-shots for some of them below). See more on-demand videos about STS-135 here.
The Takeaway? While you’re at it, provide visitors with a way to relive what happened. For those who weren’t able to watch the live event, they can still see what happened (as if they were watching it live – except they can skip to the part of the video that interests them the most).
More ways to Interact
This provided opportunities for people to share photos of the event and get real-time information directly from the source. NASA can’t control what people post on Twitter about the event, but they can broadcast accurate information and it provides their fans with a terrific place to interact with each other. Speaking of interaction, NASA had a “NASA Tweetup“. What’s that? According to their website, “A Tweetup is an informal meeting of people who use the social messaging medium Twitter. NASA Tweetups provide [people who Follow @NASA on Twitter] with the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at NASA facilities and events and speak with scientists, engineers, astronauts and managers. NASA Tweetups range from two hours to two days in length and include a “meet and greet” session to allow participants to mingle with fellow Tweeps and the people behind NASA’s Twitter feeds.”
The Takeaway? Let people go behind the scenes. It shows your biggest fans that you care and in turn, they’ll likely promote you and meetup with other enthusiasts. What if a local government did this with high schools…?
Real-Time Space Shuttle Tracker Mashup
“You can now track the space shuttle during launch and landing in Google Earth using real-time data from Mission Control.” (source)
The Takeaway? Give people ways to interact with data in cool ways. This data was practical and you could see why they put it out there. It’s easily understood by the public and it’s fascinating.
Photos
Here’s some screen-shot photos of the launch as it was happening live and when they showed some replays… photos are another tool that governments can use to inspire their audience (in this case, I took screen-shots of video, but you get the point)…
(Click images to see larger photos!)
*In case there is any confusion, NASA does not endorse our products. Also, here’s the use guidelines for NASA imagery, etc (so please follow them if using any photos from this post). These photos aren’t necessarily in the order that they happened. Photo credits: the NASA.gov website (mainly screenshots of video).
Gov't & Technology, Miscellaneous, Open Government
Last week, The Brookings Institution hosted a panel discussion about (among other things) social media and civic engagement. The event was held in Washington, D.C.
Here are some posts/news stories about the event. Video of the event is embedded below…
- “Ten Ways Social Media Can Improve Campaign Engagement and Reinvigorate American Democracy” (Moderator of the event, Darrell M. West, Vice President and Director, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution)
- “Recap: Brookings’ Panel on How Social Networking Can Re-Invigorate Civic Participation” (Alicia Mazzara on GovLoop)
- “Can Social Media Reinvigorate Civic Participation?” (ICMA)
- “Crowd Pleasers v. Policy Heft” (nextgov)
- “White Boards and Goolsbee vs. Obama and Babies” (techPresident)
Panelists included:
- Mindy Finn (Partner, Engage)
- Diana Owen (Associate Professor of Political Science, Director of American Studies, Georgetown University)
- Macon Phillips (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy, The White House)
- Lee Rainie (Director, Pew Internet & American Life Project)
- Welcoming Remarks and Moderator – Darrell M. West (Vice President and Director, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution)
Special thanks to Leandro Oliva (@lmoliva_ on Twitter) for letting me use this info!
While I’m not totally sure where I originally found out about this, it might have been from here.
Gov't & Technology, Open Government
