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October 2009 · Volume 91 · Number 9
Do Local Governments Tweet?Celebrities do it, your kids do it, and local governments are doing it, too. That's right, local governments have taken to tweeting. Residents can visit Twitter.com, create an account, sign up to their community's Twitter page, and receive messages—140 characters in length—called "tweets" from their local government. With Web traffic monitor Alexa.com ranking the micro-blogging site Twitter 15th out of the world's 500 most popular websites, local governments are using Twitter feeds to deliver information to their residents, all in 140 characters or less. Starting in July 2009, Avon, a small town in central Indiana, began communicating with residents via Twitter. The town manager posts tweets on the town's Twitter page, so the page's subscribers can receive notices about road and highway closures, summer concerts, procuring federal funds for public works projects, power outages, and summaries of town meetings, along with schedules for the farmers market, town services, town hall, and all other town buildings. Quick to CommunicateAll of the tweeted information is readily accessible on Avon's website, so taking the time to use a Twitter feed may seem counterintuitive. But it makes perfect sense to Tom Klein, Avon's town manager. "Unlike posting an announcement on the town's newspaper or website, Twitter provides a proactive medium to communicate with residents about important issues and information," Klein said. Klein also mentioned some additional benefits of Twitter, including what he calls the mushroom effect. Once a notice is posted on Twitter, people re-tweet the post, share it with their friends, and the message gets out quickly. A tweet about a road closure goes on the town's page, and from there it gets passed around on Twitter networks, notifying more than just the tweet's original audience. The micro-blogging service can also be used to notify people about disasters or other emergencies in real time. Klein focused on Twitter's real-time reporting capability to stress the differences between Twitter and other media. Avon is home to a train yard and a rail line that cuts through the community. During January 2008, a train accident derailed 35 railcars and dumped 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel into the community. At the time, the city was not on Twitter. If a similar disaster occurred today, town staff could send out a tweet about the accident and proactively alert residents. Klein summed up Twitter's usefulness by saying, "If there is a chemical spill you will get a Twitter alert informing you about the accident in real time, unlike a press release on the town's website." There Are Others!Avon isn't the only local government tweeting to its residents. The city and county of San Francisco, California, uses Twitter for the 311 service, which allows residents to use tweets to notify local officials about graffiti problems or abandoned vehicles. Santa Rosa, California, also uses its Twitter page to develop local businesses; Sarasota County, Florida, communicates hurricane alerts and preparedness tips with Twitter; and Santa Clara County, California, tweets about swine flu and other public health issues. To view the Twitter pages mentioned in this article, among others, type these addresses in your Web browser:
Also follow ICMA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/localmanagers. You can use the search term "local government" at www.twitter.com to find more addresses. For more information on social networking, visit this ICMA site: http://tinyurl.com/nl6pcm. |
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