Dismissed as a fad in its infancy, there seems no doubting now that social media is here to stay, says a recent headline on the Sustainable Gov website. The article is repeated in its entirety here.
The current leading lights of social media, Facebook and Twitter, are seen as indispensible tools by millions of users across the globe, whilst their profits and user bases continue to expand at breakneck speed. The private sector, spurred on by the chance to inexpensively connect with millions at the click of a mouse, was fairly quick to see the potential of social media, but so far the public sector has lagged far behind.
As information flows continue to evolve the question remains: do public bodies embrace new media, and if so, how should it be best achieved?
Despite social media encroaching into daily life at a startling pace, those at the top of the hierarchy still seem to have serious misgivings about how far it should impinge on civil service activity. Last year a report by public sector IT managers’ organisation Socitm found 90% of public sector bodies restricted social networking in some way while 67% blocked access altogether. Most cited security concerns as the number one reason for their uneasiness, whilst others expressed worries regarding the potential risk to their reputations from social media misuse.
However, some pioneering schemes have shown that public bodies can make good use of new media. Greater Manchester Police made headlines for their use of Twitter during and after the chaos caused by this summer’s riots: keeping citizens up to date during the disruption and advising businesses to close early in preparation, whilst working to identifying suspects from their social media profiles in the aftermath. An earlier initiative had seen the force tweeting a day’s worth of 999 calls, a move that proved incredibly popular and opened many people’s eyes to the work that goes on behind the scenes.
Many councils, schools, libraries and other organisations have made inroads into what has been dubbed Web 2.0, but frequently their efforts seem unfocused, unprofessional, or simply existing just for the sake of existing. The platforms may offer the chance to connect with citizens, to raise awareness of services and to shape policy developments, but too often they are seemingly not utilised with these intents in mind, or do not adequately succeed in meeting them.
This may be an inherent difficulty because of the way in which users engage with social media. People tend to befriend or follow a particular page because they have an emotional bond with that entity, something that may not sit comfortably with the public perception of the public sector. Whilst many people appreciate the work done by local government for example, it is unlikely that a Facebook page set up in the name of a local council would garner much attention from users prone to latching on to more stimulating and sensational material.
Getting around this snag may require public bodies to rethink their tactics to engage with citizens online. One technique could be to shift away from branding social media in the name of the organisation in favour of pages dealing with specific issues. People are often highly opinionated when it comes to debating the practices and effectiveness of the public sector, but enabling users to get involved and contribute to discussions could mean specifically targeting the kinds of concerns that will get people talking.
Above all, public bodies using social media need to be aware of exactly why they are using it, what they are hoping to achieve and who they are hoping to target. This business-minded approach could yield far better results than the scattergun tactics currently in place.
If ultimately successful, the use of social media could contribute to a profound shift in the relationship between citizen and state. ‘User-generated government’ may sound like a gimmick or a pipe dream, but effective use of social media could result in citizens no longer being viewed merely as passive recipients of services. Rather, they can become active shapers of them, providing feedback, suggesting ideas for improvement and holding departments accountable. Shaping these ideas into reality may require a huge cultural shift in the public sector, but they appear to be worth striving for.
I would concur with the sentiments expressed in by Sustainable Gov. What about you?