Social Networks and Government

What are Social Networks?

Social networking sites are websites that connect people. In these online communities, people can join (usually for free) and at a minimum, establish a page with their profile.

The most popular sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, also have groups, which are feature-rich chat boards for members. Members can share comments, links, photos, videos, and more. A popular professional networking site, LinkedIn, offers sections for jobs, recommendations, and questions. Social networking sites make it easy for members to connect with others who have similar interests or affiliations, and establish contact networks. Many Web 2.0 tools such as photo-sharing (e.g., Flickr) or location-based services (e.g., FourSquare) now incorporate social networking features.

Government Use of Social Networks

Social networking sites can help your agency promote government information and services. Many government agencies now use tools like Facebook to bring people together around their agency's work and information. Social networks expand the government's outreach capabilities and improve our ability to interact with and serve the public.

Agencies use social networking sites such as LinkedIn to advertise jobs, or answer questions about job postings they've listed on the federal government's official jobs site USAjobs.gov.

These sites are a great way to announce and market events. The Columbus, Ohio, Chamber of Commerce worked with students at Ohio State University to use Facebook to announce the opening event of a new restaurant, leading to long lines of students waiting outside in cold weather until the restaurant opened. The restaurant had the biggest opening day ever for the restaurant chain.

Interagency and intergovernmental social networking sites can promote cooperation across government. Internal social networking sites can establish connections across traditionally stovepiped and geographically dispersed organizations. Employees could form groups on social networking sites to overcome stovepipes within organizations.

Examples of Government Social Networks

The EPA's Facebook page gives the agency a venue to provide updates, share photos, videos, and job listings, and engage the public in discussions.

The USAgov Facebook page launched in March 2008, delivering RSS feeds, videos, photos, and news and tips about government service.

The Library of Congress' Photostream in Flickr is a good example of posting the government's public domain photos on a social networking site where the public can comment on the photos.

Government Issues

Before you create a new social networking account for your agency, learn about federal-compatible Terms of Service (TOS) agreements and coordinate with the broader social networking efforts already happening at your agency. The public is better-served when agencies establish a few (or one) central, official, authoritative site/account, instead of many niche pages or accounts.

Some agencies have blocked use of social networking sites from government workplaces, citing concerns of proper use, bandwidth, and security. An agencywide ban, without waivers, prevents web managers, communications professionals, and others in the organizations from using these tools to market programs and achieve the agency's mission. Contact your agency Web Director, New Media Director, or CIO, if you have questions or concerns about the use of social networking tools at your agency.

There is nothing to prevent government employees from participating on social networking sites as individuals, but you should clearly separate personal and work-related activities in the social networking arena.