Over the weekend I stopped by Govcamp for a few hours. There was no camping. There was though a bunch of casual talks about using social media in the government context. I'm in the pro camp when it comes to social media as a communication tool in the public service. I can sort of see why there are skeptics, but really I think it just makes sense. You can communicate with stakeholders directly, address misinformation, and target messages. And you can listen.
I'm lucky - I work with a bunch of enthusiastic people who have convinced a bunch of other people of the merits of social media. People criticise and make comments about the resourcing impacts this might have, but there aren't any additional resources - we just all do our bit because we just want to see it work. And it does.
Plus it's fun. People often think of public servants as cardigan wearing conservatives...but look at us, riding on a wave of modern day technology. Yeah, yeah we may be riding it several years after everyone else, but we were just biding our time. Who wants to have the legacy of a bunch of old government myspace and bebo accounts anyways.
I'm lucky - I work with a bunch of enthusiastic people who have convinced a bunch of other people of the merits of social media. People criticise and make comments about the resourcing impacts this might have, but there aren't any additional resources - we just all do our bit because we just want to see it work. And it does.
Plus it's fun. People often think of public servants as cardigan wearing conservatives...but look at us, riding on a wave of modern day technology. Yeah, yeah we may be riding it several years after everyone else, but we were just biding our time. Who wants to have the legacy of a bunch of old government myspace and bebo accounts anyways.
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I am trying to convince my agency to get on board. I am on the pro side too!
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