Using Social Media for Society

Everyone's using social media these days. Moms are blogging. Teenagers are Myspace-ing. Dads are flickring. Grandma has the new Family Tree app for Facebook. And an astute Grandpa keeps up with the whole family via FriendFeed. Even governmental agencies are using social media these days. The point is: People are using the WWW to stay connected more than ever.

To honor the 4th of July holiday weekend, I wanted to look into how the U.S. government is using social media to communicate with America. I dug around the internet and found some interesting tidbits.

Landing at the top of my search results was USA.gov's Gov Gab, a blog highlighting how consumers can use government resources to make their every day lives better, easier and more fun. Neat concept, right? The blog is maintained by employees in the Office of Citizen Services & Communications within the U.S. General Services Administration. It offers visitors a slew of information, from the dangers of 4th of July fireworks to fun and safe Web sites for boys and girls.

Gov Gab has also posted a terrific powerpoint on how Government can use Social Media. Very informative. I think many of the concepts can be used for non-governmental agencies, as well. You can find it here.

Two thumbs up to my home state. Virginia has hopped on the social media bandwagon by creating a YouTube channel, found here. Virginia's YouTube channel hosts PSAs, public meeting snippets and an array of other content available to users around the clock. This is great content for bloggers and journalists with a local focus on Va. It also serves as a terrific outlet for the Governor to communicate his thoughts and reasonings behind certain legislation. Scratching your head over the increase in speeding tickets fees--log on to YouTube for the Governor's response! Unfortunately, videos don't allow for comments, a needed feature if Virginia trully wants to allow for two-way communication.

The United Kingdom's British Monarchy also sports its own YouTube channel. Missed Queen Elizabeth's speech at the French state banquet? Check it out on The Royal Channel. Again, The Royal Channel doesn't allow viewers to comment on videos either.

Guess who podcasts? President Bush! All of the President's podcasts can be found and downloaded here. Don't feel like listening to ABBA's Greatest Hits in preparation for the Mamma Mia! movie release on your drive to your summer vacation residence?--Try a George Bush radio address, instead!

People are embracing social media like never before. I'm glad the government is taking notice and joining in on the conversation. Still, I think there's room for improvement (isn't there always?).

I'd like to see a U.S. government sponsored YouTube channel. The content is available, post it at a site where users are visiting. Also, offering citizens the ability to voice their opinions in comment boxes is also very important. It's the essence of social media: open communication.

In a homage to FDR, I'd like to see fireside-esque chats with our next president, via the blogosphere. Heck, with the ease of streaming video, the President-to-be can host fireside chats with not just sound but, video as well--He could just whip out his Flip Video for a quick recording!

I'm excited to see the progression of social media and how the government (and it's people!) will leverage it. Here's to the great U.S.A.!

Finally, how do you know you're an American? When you can not only vote for your favorite Presidential candidate but, you can also be his or her friend on Facebook!