Government Moves Full Steam Ahead with Social Media

April 14, 2009 | Posted by: Melissa Chadwick

Not too long ago, I attended the really interesting Social Media in Government Workshop put on by the Potomac Forum. As one of the few non-government agency attendees, I felt like I had an insider's view into the immense challenges that this group faces when trying to implement social media - things that our corporate clients never have to worry about. The fact that there was a whole session on policy, policy and more policy drove home the understanding that if agencies are behind, it's not for a lack of trying.

But attendees also shared a lot of positive stories too. Many referenced President Obama's Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government as the final push their organizations needed in terms of buy-in. I could feel the growing excitement as ideas and best practices were exchanged. For example, Jeffrey Levy (a definite follow on Twitter: levyj413) of the EPA presented some great examples of the work his team has done with communicating with citizens via the Greenversations Blog.

And I've been tracking progress since this event and things seem to be progressing at a good clip. At the end of March, the GSA announced agreements with various social media sites and in May the Office of Management and Budget is expected to give more guidance on how agencies can enhance collaboration. On this note, I'd encourage you to check out this Network World article posted April 9, "10 Twitter tips from early federal adopters," which shows how quickly agencies are getting into the game. It's exciting to see all the work done by the government on the social media front and I hope that its use by agencies holds up to the promise of greater citizenship accountability and engagement.