Transcript Managing Social Media: A Training Class for Government

Becoming Social:
Developing social media policy
for government
Theresa A. Pardo, Ph.D.
Bahrain International eGovernment Forum
April 10, 2013
CTG mission
• Foster public sector
innovation, enhance
capability, generate
public value, and support
good governance.
• Applied research,
knowledge sharing, and
collaborative problem
solving
• Look at the intersection
of policy, management,
and technology.
Policy
Management
Technology
Some CTG Partners
The Government Innovation Context
Technology
10,000 mph
Organization &
management
1000 mph
Public policies
10 mph
Social media around the world
The number of Facebook users in the Arab world has tripled in the
last 2 years, increasing from 16 million users to 45 million users. The
estimated number of active Twitter users in the Arab region at the
end of June 2012 was 2,099,706.
~Arab Social Media Report, Vol. 2, No.1, July 2012, Dubai School of Government
Awareness of Facebook is close to
100%
More than 1 billion people
(>70% of internet population)
use social networks.
~ Steven Van Belleghem, InSite Consulting, Social Media
Around the World, 2011
75 Largest US Cities
75%
87%
87%
2009
2011
13%
Facebook
25%
Twitter
16%
YouTube
Social media in the public sphere
• Used by civil society
to influence
government actions
and policies
• Used by
government figures
to communicate
their agenda
Social media in the public sphere
• Used by governments
to communicate and
engage with their
citizens
• Used by governments
to provide services
and public service
announcements
The Full Package
Social media policies
and
Social media guidelines
Social media policy
• Social media policy offers a higher
level management framework.
• The aim of a policy is to guide
individual departments in setting up
processes and rules necessary for
management of social media
engagement and social media use by
their employees.
Social media guidelines
• A companion document to a social media policy.
• Social media guidelines provide information on
techniques for social media engagement,
including:
– Directions for choosing an appropriate tool
– Directions on designing content
– Advice on incorporating citizen feedback into
program and policy decision processes
– Guidance on creating a social media strategy
Why do governments need a
social media policy?
• Inform and educate citizens and employees
• Set internal and external expectations
• Define proper use and procedures
• Prevent problems from happening in the first
place
• Establish and maintain legitimacy
Eight Essential Elements
1. Access
Access policy delineates who access social media tools
from a government-owned network or device and what
conditions influence this access right.
Access strategies:
● Open access without restrictions
● Access based on function or role within an agency
● Access based on selected sites or tools
2. Account management
Account management encompasses the creation,
maintenance, and deletion of social media accounts.
Account management:
· Account opening protocol
· Guidance on maintenance of log-on information of
existing account and employees with access
· Account closing guidance
· Password guidance
3. Acceptable use
Acceptable use policies outline how employees are
expected to use agency resources, restrictions on use
for personal interests, and consequences for violating
the policy.
Acceptable use:
· Most of the policies reviewed use references to
existing policies regarding usage of governmentowned resources
· Most agencies address acceptable use of social
media tools for personal reasons, but with the
increasing popularity of these tools, agencies will
need to start addressing professional use as well
4. Employee conduct
Employee conduct addresses what is “right” and “wrong” in
terms of employees’ behavior when engaging with social media
tools or on social media platforms as an employee of a
particular agency.
Employee conduct:
· Existing rules of conduct
· Blurry line between personal and professional
· Balancing employees’ right to free speech and
privacy and protecting agency integrity
· Usage of disclaimers on personal postings
5. Content
Content policy delineates procedures for publishing
official agency information on official agency social
media sites.
Content considerations:
● Strategies vary from centralized control to light editorial
oversight over employee postings
● Content policy does not have to set detailed protocol for whole
agency, but can simply direct departments to create and abide by a
set protocol
6. Security
Security policy outlines security procedures employees have to
follow when using social media tools.
Security considerations:
● Behavioral versus technical issues
● Employee education
● Fast pace of technological changes
● Some policies utilize existing security policies for Internet use,
others are more specific to social media environment
7. Legal issues
Legal issues connected to agency and employee use of
social media tools.
Legal considerations:
● Policy environment has not caught up to technology
● Policies reviewed took two approaches – make reference to
users abiding by existing laws or detail specific laws to abide by
● Issues that seem to be most pressing in the United States:
Terms of Service
Records management
Freedom of speech
Citizen privacy
8. Citizen engagement
Citizen engagement refers to setting protocols for the
appropriate conduct of citizens on an official agency social media
site and how will inappropriate conduct be handled, as well as
directions on who is responsible for monitoring and reviewing
citizen input.
Citizen conduct:
· Existing rules of conduct
· Guidelines address issues such as offensive language,
political endorsements, trademark material
· Rules pertain to who is responsible for monitoring and
reviewing citizen input
www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/guides/social_media_policy/social_media_policy.pdf
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php?f=5
Ibrahim Elbadawi
Strategic Planning Specialist, UAE
The Government Innovation Context
Technology
10,000 mph
Organization &
management
1000 mph
Public policies
10 mph
Thank You!
www.ctg.albany.edu
[email protected]