Department of Health - Social Media Action Plan - Part 1: Policy

The Department of Health's Social Media policy recognises that staff and business units will increasingly be using social media to interact with each other and the Victorian community and to promote the work of the Department. This policy provides a safe framework for online participation by representatives of the Department of Health. The policy recognises that all communications by public servants must comply with the standards of conduct and behaviour set out in the Public Administration Act 2004, the Code of Conduct for Victorian public sector employees, Victorian Government policies and guidelines, and Commonwealth and state legislation.

Web 2.0: The New Tools for Democratic Conversations – A snapshot of Initiatives in Government

This paper provides an overview of developments in the use of interactive online communications described as Web 2.0 and when applied in government, better known as Government 2.0.

Social Media for the Public Sector Conference - Melbourne 21-22 March 2012

Key topics that will be examined at the conference include: how to develop a social media strategy for your organisation; integrating social media into your existing communication strategies; engaging with the community using social media; and measuring the success of your social media campaign.

US DOD Social Media Policy

The US Department of Defense published its social media policy on February 25, 2010.

A Report on Federal Web 2.0 Use and Record Value 2010

In Fiscal Year 2010, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) undertook a study to observe how US federal government agencies are using web 2.0 tools to conduct business and identify characteristics that may affect the value of information created and shared in web 2.0 formats. A NARA team interviewed six Federal agencies that are using web 2.0 tools to conduct mission-related business and have policies or procedures for implementing and using tools. Representatives from an additional nineteen Federal agencies volunteered to attend a focus group jam session to provide a broader understanding of Federal web 2.0 uses.

A Survey of Official and Unofficial Law Enforcement Twitter Accounts in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States

To use Twitter to its fullest potential for public communications, emergency management, and other functions, law enforcement agencies must first understand the medium -- not only how citizens use it, but also how their peers use it both officially and unofficially. This study, a survey of 1,089 police and police-related Twitter accounts, used 25 different criteria to show how agencies and officers are using Twitter, where they can improve, and implications for their future use.

An overview of Twitter for Government

Presentation by Craig Thomler entitled Twitter Tactics, 19 September 2011

Back to Basics The Essentials of Facebook and Twitter New Media Talk

Webinar provided by Howto.gov - Presenters: Gadi Ben-Yehuda, IBM Center for the Business of Government; Stephanie L. Schierholz, NASA; Tim Brown, U.S. Department of State, Monday, October 31, 2011

Building Online Community for Government - GovLoop

Presentation by Andrew Krzmarzick, GovLoop, delivered at the IDGA "Social Media for Defense" event on October 25, 2011.

Building your presence with Facebook Pages: A guide for military organizations

Provided by the US Navy. Every day, millions of people all over the world visit Facebook to connect with friends and share what they love. This guide is designed to help military organizations make the most of Facebook Pages to tell their stories and build deep, lasting connections with their audience.

Connected councillors: a guide to using social media to support local leadership

The Connected Councillors guide is meant as a brief introduction to social media for councillors, outlining how social media can be used to: support councillor's leadership roles; create a space for community conversation; keep a finger on the pulse of local needs; campaign for political office and on important local issues. It is targeted particularly at councillors who have some IT skills, and would like to know more.

Consumer Affairs Victoria on Facebook

You can now interact with Consumer Affairs Victoria on Facebook. The consumer affairs regulator made its first post through the social media giant on 18 July.

Department of Health - Social Media Action Plan - Part 2: Staff Toolkit

Best practice guidelines and templates that can be used by business units implementing social media. The Health Web Communications Unit has commissioned this checklist to step you through the process of establishing and launching your social media site.

Department of Health - Social Media Action Plan - Part 3: Reference guide

In this document, we present a set of profiles of key web 2.0 tools, explaining not only what they do but also how they are being used in the Health sector around the world. We introduce them and set the context for web 2.0 by providing an overview of the growth in web 2.0 tools and products over the past 10 years. In the dynamic and evolving web 2.0 environment, the examples given may quickly lose relevance. Our aim, therefore, has been to show not only the wide variety of tools and of uses, but also the potential that these tools offer. Our focus is on proven, established tools with clear application and relevance for the Department of Health.

Developing a government agency social media infrastructure

Presentation by Craig Thomler at the AMI Government Marketing and Communications Conference 9 September 2011

Digital Media Across Asia - Government Uses Of Social Media

Paper by Ingrid Mak, Ng Hui Min, Ong Wee Kiat Bob, Michelle Sng Suat Li, Naresh s/o Vijaykumaran, Joseph Wee Yeong Yew, 3 March 2010. Learning how to use social media can be tricky because governments face a variety of unique challenges… Provides a number of case studies, best practices, ways to measure social media success and provides a roadmap path to success.

Getting Under the Skin of Government 2.0 - Issues, Insights and Implications

Presentation to the New Media Group, Victorian Government, Melbourne, March 2010, by Martin Stewart-Weeks, Director, Public Sector (Asia-Pacific), Internet Business Solutions Group.

Government 2.0 - Getting started in the social web

Paper presented to: Participating in the Social Web: Government 2.0 Government Web 2.0 conference, Ottawa Ontario November 17, 2009, by Tamera Kremer / Partner, Strategic Consulting, Teehan+Lax. Provides a Government 2.0 primer on using social media to engage with citizens.

Guidance for use of social media in the Victorian public sector

The purpose of this guidance for Victorian public sector bodies and employees is to clarify their existing obligations under the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees (No 1) 2007 in the context of using social media. It is high level principles based, and addresses both official and private use.

Hewlett Packard - Government IT Survey Report - Government 2.0

Government IT Professionals Online Survey Results Final Report September 2010. HP wanted to understand of the use of social media and other communication and collaboration technologies (referred to herein as 'Gov 2.0') by government IT professionals. They surveyed U.S. government IT professionals from local, state and federal levels between September 7 – September 8, 2010. There were 103 completed surveys.

GovTwit Directory

The government Twitter directory. "GovTwit is the world's largest directory of all facets of government on Twitter: state and local, federal, contractors, media, academics, non-profits and government outside of the U.S..."

CeBit 2012: Social media a legal minefield

The legal system and notions of privacy need to be updated if they are to cope with rapid technological change, by Tim Lohman. Computerworld, 24 May, 2012. "Government agencies looking to make greater use of social media and other collaboration tools face a raft of legal issues with the potential to sink efforts to better connect government and the public. Speaking at CeBIT in Sydney, Justin Davidson, senior executive lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor said a major challenge for government agencies was in managing government’s obligation to maintain citizens’ privacy and the relatively fluid nature of privacy on social media sites such as Facebook..."

@ACTIONbuses continue Twitter service updates

ACT Government - Katy Gallagher, Media Release, 21 May 2012. "ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Katy Gallagher, said today that ACTION will extend its successful trial of tweeting service updates during the weekday morning peak period. "The ACTION Twitter trial has received significant positive feedback from bus users who appreciated being able to access information updating them about their morning services," the Chief Minister said. "@ACTIONbuses has added over 300 new followers over the last four weeks of the trial and now have over 1100 followers..."

Social media guidance for civil servants - in pdf format (1957kb)

(This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). This guidance was produced as part of the UK Government ICT strategy. UK Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service, 17th May, 2012. "PART ONE - Guidance on the use of social media. For: All civil servants. Covers: How to use social media to communicate and engage effectively. PART TWO - Guidance on the use of social media. Covers: How to provide the necessary technical infrastructure, platforms, and software to enable access to the internet and social media channels. For: Civil servants who work in ICT..."

No more risk to privacy on Facebook, than web: MED

Ministry of Economic Development says its Facebook account offers the same access to Companies Office records, By Stephen Bell - Wellington. Computerworld, Monday, 21 May, 2012. "The Ministry of Economic Development sees no additional risk to users’ privacy or risk of fraud or forgery from providing access to Companies Office records via Facebook..."

Can Twitter and Facebook Transform 311?

By Steve Towns. Public CIO, May 15, 2012. "It's remarkable how quickly social media has changed the world. But will platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and YouTube truly change how government operates and interacts with citizens?..."

EPA offers Twitter response cheat sheet

By Alice Lipowicz. Federal Computer Week, May 16, 2012. "One of the tricky issues for federal agencies on Twitter is how to decide consistently whether to respond, or not respond, to a tweeted question or comment. Now there is some help with that dilemma. The Environmental Protection Agency has distributed a one-page flow chart that serves as a "cheat sheet" decision tool for indicating when agency representatives should respond to a tweet..."

Social Media Quick Tip: Pinterest and Police

By Lauri Stevens. Connected Cops, May 10, 2012. "Another day, another social networking tool. Pinterest is the latest to garner big interest with users, but it'’s actually been around for more than a year. Pinterest is the 16th most popular website in the U.S., the 25th most popular in Canada and the 31st most popular in the UK, according to AppAppeal. As one who advises LE agencies to go where the people are, Pinterest is at the point where law enforcement should give it a serious look..."

Think before you tweet

By Joseph Marks. Nextgov, May 14, 2012. "Tweets may take just seconds to compose, but before they go out federal agencies should devote substantial time to figuring out who their audience is, their rules of engagement and who will be managing their Twitter accounts, a report released Monday urged. Social media strategies should address how deeply agencies will engage with different Twitter communities and when it's worth responding to a tweet, according to the report from IBM's Center for the Business of Government..."

New IBM report: Working the Network – A Manager’s Guide for Using #Twitter in Government

by Ines Mergel, Social media in the public sector: Social Networks – Social Software – Social Technologies, Posted on May 14, 2012 . "Twitter—a microblogging service that allows for short updates of 140 characters—has grown to over 540 million registered accounts as of early 2012. News organizations, corporations, and the U.S. government have adopted this new practice as an innovative form of interaction with their stakeholders. Many government agencies maintain at least one Twitter account, and even multiple accounts, based on their operational needs and their diverse audiences. It can be unclear to government Twitter users what the best strategies are for interacting with the public on Twitter, and how an agency can use Twitter in a meaningful way to support its organizational mission..."

Working the Network: A Manager's Guide for Using Twitter in Government

Ines Mergel has written this guide, detailing the benefits - and risks - of hosting a Twitter feed. IBM Center for the Business of Government, May 2012. "Like many technological tools, Twitter does not come with an instruction manual. To help both government executives who must decide whether Twitter is a useful tool for their organizations and frontline managers who will create and administer the Twitter account, Ines Mergel has written this guide, detailing the benefits - and risks - of hosting a Twitter feed, as well as the specifics on how to maintain a Twitter feed to achieve optimum results. In addition to the information about Twitter itself, this guide presents material about the expanding ecosystem that is growing up around Twitter. Applications like Klout, TweetDeck, HootSuite, and Instagram add new kinds of functionality and make Twitter feeds more valuable both to government and to citizens who subscribe to their feeds..."

Facebook Australia users get donor feature

One week after US and UK Facebook users were given a tool to share their organ donor status, Australians can now do the same, by AAP. Computerworld, 8 May, 2012. "Australian Facebook users can link to organ donor registries and share their donor status with friends under a new feature introduced on the social networking site. The new tool, which went live on Tuesday, follows the introduction last week of the feature in the United States and United Kingdom where it has already sparked an increase in organ donor registrations..."

Which Social Network Should You Use - and When? [INFOGRAPHIC]

by Sam Laird. Mashable, April 17, 2012. "Want to make the most of the social web? It's more complicated than just posting status updates at random and seeing what sticks. When is Facebook most effective? When are you better off using Twitter, or LinkedIn? And what exactly is Google+ good for, anyway? The business consultant network Zintro recently pulled research from more than a dozen sources including Mashable, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google and Quantcast to put together this nifty infographic, which will help you develop your social strategy..."

Making news: New media and the Public Service - Threat and opportunity

By Percy Allan. PS News, Wednesday, 9 May 2012. "Before the Internet revolution ordinary citizens had only the letters page of a newspaper or the willing ear of a radio shock-jock to make their views widely known. The advent of popular websites and, more recently, social media has removed the veto of the old media on what is said and who can say it to a mass audience. The digital revolution has splintered the media into a million sources, which means the public no longer shares common news and opinion outlets to the same extent as fifteen years ago when the World Wide Web opened up. This has profound implications for government, not least that media barons, though still powerful, have to contend with competing sources of information... The rise of new media and the decline of the old have profound implications for both governments and their bureaucracies. For governments it offers the opportunity to bypass established media outlets and communicate directly to citizens via their computers, mobiles and tablets..."

In-house social media struggles in local government

Yammer stammers in Australia, as staff resist extra comms channel, By Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor . The Register, Posted in Public Sector, 2nd May 2012. "Two Australian local government organisations have found that adding an internal social media tool creates one communications tool too many, and have abandoned trials of enterprise social network Yammer as a result of their experiences..."

Government 2.0

Articles and resources about how government is making use of web 2.0 technologies (commonly referred to as government 2.0) to interact with citizens and provide government services.

Social Media Analytics

Articles and resources about how you measure social media including the return on investment (ROI).

Social Media Marketing

Articles and resources about how to develop a social media strategy, plans and social media marketing in general

Social Search

Articles and resources about social search which may use a search engine algorithm and combine this with online community filtering to produce highly personalized search results.

What use is social media to government?

How can government use social media - as a means of monitoring social conversations or as a contributor?