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Entry bubble Government 2.0

By: Jess | May 21, 2009 | Category: Fun

It wasn't too long ago that I told you about some of the cool things we were experimenting with using social media such as RSS feeds and Twitter to help bring you government information where you want to get it. (If you missed the earlier post, you can find us here: Twitter.com/pueblo81009, Twitter.com/usagov, Twitter.com/gobiernousa.)

More recently we've created Facebook pages where you can find USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov as well as consumer information from the Federal Citizen Information Center. Our goal is to help you find the government information you need in places you normally spend time online. If Facebook is one of those places and you like getting information from your news feed, becoming fans of our pages will deliver daily doses of information right into that feed. I encourage you to comment on our postings, tell us what you like or don't like and feel free to ask questions.

Our newest expansion into the social media world is the brand-spanking new U.S. Government YouTube channel. The channel is a portal to videos from all of the federal agencies posting videos to YouTube. You'll find messages from officials, how-to videos about applying for Social Security benefits, NASA videos of astronauts in space and more from tons of other agencies. If you've got a minute, I encourage you to go check it out!

My question to you about social media is how much do you use it and do you like interacting with the government and getting government information through these channels? 

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: facebook   jess   social_media   twitter   youtube  

Comments (4):

blue comment bubble Posted by lentigogirl on May 21, 2009 at 11:10 AM EDT

The comments to date on the otherwise excellent government YouTube channel are not the most sterling example of civic engagement. Is this a disincentive for government agencies to enable the comment function on YouTube? And if agencies don't enable the comment function, is it 2.0 or just 1.5?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Dan Nieman on May 21, 2009 at 03:32 PM EDT

I think the varied means that the government is using to reach out to the American people is a welcome breath of fresh air. We have a wonderful country with many great programs to enhance the lives of our people. As a librarian, I strive to stay up to date on what is going on in the Federal as well as the state government. I am currently using your twitter services and receive email updates when new posts are added to government blogs. All of this is a tremendous way to keep the American people informed. Thank you!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jed Sundwall on May 21, 2009 at 04:47 PM EDT

Great post, Jess! Thanks for asking people for their feedback.

I really hope people will start providing more feedback on the information that we put out through these channels.

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blue comment bubble Posted by another fed on May 22, 2009 at 12:26 PM EDT

in reply to lentigogirl,
the government isinerently a part of people's daily lives, from taxes, to road, to police, all the way to red and green traffic lights. While these are not all (always) federal issues many people will comment on things just to comment. Most government sites have the option to comment or contact the appropriate agency but a site like youtube could become overwhelmed by people making comments that are completely off the subject, there is definitely call for moderation. Even comments on this site are moderated for propriety. As long as the video provides a method of feedback, even if not direct tot eh video, but to the agency it is progress. if people want to protest, they can make their own video.

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