Riding the Wave: Social Media in Local Government
| Publication year | 2012 |
| Pages | 0016 |
| Citation | Vol. 52 No. 4 Pg. 0016 |
2012 Winter, Pg. 16. RIDING THE WAVE: Social Media in Local Government
Volume 52, No. 4
Winter 2012
New social media technologies provide dynamic, accessible ways for towns, cities and school districts to communicate with the public and perhaps with a whole new generation of citizens. However, as with all communication, social media presents a number of legal issues for local governments. Attorneys representing municipalities and school districts need to familiarize themselves with what is there now, what is coming in the future, and how to help our clients navigate this new territory. Happily, while these new media outlets may be dressed up as something new, most present legal challenges for local officials similar to more traditional methods of communication. For local government attorneys, it is just a matter of figuring out the jargon (something at which lawyers are particularly adept) and staying one step ahead of our clients.
DO WE HAVE TO?
In a word, yes. Social networking is here in a big way. There are corners in the state where broadband is still unavailable. There are places where cell phone coverage is, at best, spotty. Our clients have told us that in those areas, there is still a general reliance on traditional methods of communication (newspapers, landlines, and face-to-face interaction) and relatively low interest in social media. Even in those areas, however, municipal officials have begun to notice that interested citizens are taking matters into their own hands. Many New Hampshire towns and school districts created their own website only after discovering an "unofficial" site had been established. Similarly, there are Twitter accounts for the towns of Weare and Exeter and the City of Portsmouth which were created and are operated not by the municipality, but by private citizens.
Whether or not local governments welcome it, social media is here. Citizens have a growing expectation that their community will have some sort of virtual presence. In some cases, a website, once the hallmark of innovation, may no longer be enough. There may be different needs in different regions (and different needs among various groups of constituents), but it has become increasingly obvious that towns, cities and school districts need to consider reaching their audience in the places where that audience wants to be engaged.
For some perspective, consider this. In the United States, social networks and blogs reach nearly 80 percent of active U. S. Internet users, and represent the majority of Americans' time online.(fn1) Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other U.S. website.(fn2) In fact, in May 2011, 140 million different American users spent 53. 5 billion total minutes on Facebook - that is approximately 101,720 total years.(fn3) As of January 24, 2012, 250 million tweets were sent every day, and there were more than 100 million active Twitter users.(fn4) Almost 40 percent of social media users access these sites from mobile phones, rather than from laptops or desktop computers.(fn5) And lest we think that this is a young person's revolution, a study by Nielsen (the media research and ratings company) shows that people over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking through the mobile Internet.(fn6)
Imagine that social networking is a river. It's moving pretty fast these days. If our clients are on a raft going through the whitewater, the only way to steer is to paddle just a little bit faster than the current is moving. If they don't, they are carried along and it is only sheer luck if they avoid a rock.
DRAW A PARALLEL
The first step, of course, is to figure out what we're talking about. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines "social media" (a term in use since 2004) as "forms of electronic communication (as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)."
The most familiar social media outlets may include Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter, YouTube, along with more traditional websites. Most of these new technologies can be compared to a more familiar traditional form of communication:
Blog: Short for "web log," it is an online diary or journal, similar to a municipal newsletter or letter to the editor and column in a newspaper. The author posts whatever he or she likes, long or short. Some authors permit the public to post comments on the blog, making it interactive. Others prefer to have comments sent privately to an email address, responding to those emails only as they feel appropriate.
Listserv and other discussion groups: An email group with an administrator. Those who belong to the group can send an email to the list which everyone receives and may respond to. Messages are generally archived in a single place so members may go back and view previous email "threads" of discussion at a later time.
Twitter: Essentially, a microblog limited to 140 characters. It is used to quickly share information with others. Anyone can sign up to "follow" another Twitter user's posts ("tweets"), even if they don't post anything themselves. Users follow the municipality, school district or individual official and may re-tweet to their own followers. Tweets may be received through email, on a mobile phone, or on the Twitter website.
Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn: social networking websites. These are like a combination of many traditional communication methods. Users can send messages to one another (like e-mail), chat online (like instant messaging) and post comments and pictures on their own and on others' pages (like a message board). YouTube and Flickr: Places to post videos (like a cable channel) and photos (like a website or bulletin board).
Tumblr: Combines elements of Twitter and blogging, allowing users to post and customize everything from pictures and videos to links and quotes. This is an emerging player in the social media world, tripling its audience from a year ago.(fn7)
WHAT CAN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DO WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?
A traditional website is a bit like a bulletin board in the SAU office or the town hall. It has contact information, schedules, meeting minutes, and pictures. The website is also a bit like going to the desk, because users can find copies of zoning ordinances, policies, annual reports, and proposed budgets. On some websites, users can find forms to print out, and on others they can fill out and file forms online. There are often links to other relevant sites (the police department, individual schools) and email addresses where questions may be sent. Many local government boards and commissions are also using their websites as an official posting locations for notices of upcoming public meetings.(fn8)
Moving beyond a website (which at this point has become somewhat traditional itself), Twitter may be useful to share information quickly. This is true particularly because many people follow tweets on their mobile phones, which means they receive and often read tweets immediately. So, for instance, it can be used to announce a school delay or closing, an unscheduled early release, report an unusual traffic condition, construction warning, emergency information about a significant weather event, a public safety issue, or a meeting cancellation. It is also useful for quick reminders about important events, such as an upcoming public hearing, polling hours for an election, the school concert, or the deadline for registering dogs. In addition,
it can be a way to alert followers about something that has just been posted to a website, Facebook page or blog.
Blogs provide the option for an ongoing "conversation" with readers about anything. A municipality might use a blog to provide detailed information throughout the process of siting, designing, budgeting for and building a new public library or renovating the town hall. Local officials in a town, city or school district who are perceived by the public as bureaucratic might use a blog to provide a humanizing insight into themselves, explaining their motivations, hopes, and frustrations. (Of course, this is not without peril. But more on that later.)
Simple online tools like Survey Monkey can be used to quickly take the pulse of a community on a particular issue. For instance, if two designs are being considered for a new building, the municipality might post both designs on its website and include a link to a quick survey to ask which one people preferred or other feedback on specific features. These surveys are simple to set up and use, although they are most effective when they are short (4-6 questions maximum) and take one to two minutes for people to complete. A link to a survey can be provided on a website or a blog, a Facebook page, or even in a tweet.
Facebook and other social networking sites can be used in a combination of ways. They can be places for officials or departments to post documents, pictures and videos, to send out quick snippets of information, and to provide links to other relevant sources of information. Nashua school officials recently began considering a policy regarding teacher-student communication via social networking sites. Under the policy, which is only a proposal at the time this goes to press, teachers who want to use Facebook in the classroom would be encouraged to set up a "fan page" to communicate with students, as opposed to "friending" students (keeping the interaction official while facilitating communication).(fn9) Social networking sites are also useful places for municipalities to post information after an emergency so that people can find out where to go, what to do, and what is going to...
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