gov2.0

If you have an option to hear from "expert" or hear from someone who deals with the same challenges as you do, what would you choose?

Because we believe we all learn more when we participate than when we are passive listeners, ShinyDoor and MORPC organized the Government Social Media Conference as an interactive event. 80 participants learned from each other, figured out which Ohio government agencies are doing what in regards to social media, and got to know each other.

The "got to know each other" piece is super important. The biggest issue we heard at the conference is needing to convince management of the value of social media. Government employees (regardless of being state, local, large or small) need real examples of other government agencies experimenting with social media and struggling with the same challenges (such as access to online applications, time requirements, public records laws, message control).

The participants did not paint a rosy social media picture. They painted a realistic picture. Multiple folks explained how they ended up experimenting with social media. The story told by Scott Varner of ODOT was particularly entertaining (and genuine!). He shared a Cleveland Plain Dealer article in which ODOT was hung out to dry for not using social media. After the article came out, Scott was inundated with friends, colleagues and the general public telling him to join the new digital world and offering to assist ODOT. Where are they now? Six months later? They have a 3C Passenger Rail Facebook Page promoting a passenger rail system and 6 regional Twitter accounts posting winter weather road conditions and a YouTube channel.

For us, holding an interactive conference meant going beyond Q&A. The day held only one panel of speakers and one powerpoint (which, btw, was created by the City of Dublin and is fabulous). The rest of the day included roundtable discussions (facilitated by social media practioners), a Facebook Face Off between Mid-Ohio Foodbank and COSI, an informal discussion of setting up Twitter at an event and Q&A with Sheriff Jones of Butler County via video.

Everything we did came with an explanation so as to be a learning experience for the attendees. After Sheriff Jones participated via ustream from a law enforcement conference in Washington DC, we explained the logistical details:

1. Sheriff Jones does not have a laptop with a webcam so a friend of mine (Mickey) who lives in DC met the sheriff at his hotel with a web cam enabled laptop.
2. The video with the sheriff streamed live (via ustream) so anyone could participate.
3. Mickey is a techie but the way we set it up did not require IT skills.
4. The ustream is super simple to set up. An account is needed but its free.
5. Anyone watching while the video streamed live could ask the sheriff questions.
6. We could have used Skype. We did not so that folks who wanted to participate but were not physically at the Government Social Media Conference could easily do so.
7. We meant to record the video. We forgot. :-)

Recurring themes we heard:

• Our IT does not understand and does not want to understand social media so we figure it out ourselves.
• We are blocked from using Facebook, Twitter and many other online applications.
• We had to get special permission to get a Blackberry.
• We've been working on a social media policy. For a long time.
• I wish my boss were here.

What did we hear near the end of the day? "What's next?, Will there be another event? Can I get a list of the attendees and their contact info?"

An email we received from Karen Fahy, Community Relations Specialist at the City of Grove City -
"Fantastic event today! We really learned a lot from the presentations as well as the communication we had with participants! Thank you for putting together a great conference." 

So, yes, we will hold additional avents and we will arrange a means for the participant to continue to talk to each other. Unfortunately since many government agencies block social networking tools, whatever communication we choose will need to be one allowed by government IT departments. We're thinking a listserv. I kid you not.

Tweet, Post, Comment: Engaging Ohioans Online

What: A one day interactive conference discussing government successes, challenges and strategies for using social media to engage and educate the community. Social media is being integrated into all aspects of our society and government is no exception. Since social media encourages us to build relationships, its only fitting for a social media conference to do the same. Come prepared to participate both in person and online. Bring your questions, your ideas and your PDAs!

Date: January 22, 2010

Location: Dublin Rec Center, 5600 Post Road, Dublin, OH 43017

Cost: $60/person, includes breakfast and lunch

Registration is now closed. If you would like to attend, please contact Angela.

Agenda:

8:30-9:30     Registration & Bagel Mingle

8:30-9:00     Live demo of Twitter set up for event

9:00-9:30     Facebook Face Off between Mid-Ohio Foodbank and COSI

9:30-9:35     Welcome

9:35-10:30   Why Social Media for Outreach & Advocacy - Panelists: Laura Koprowski of MORPC, Christa Dickey of City of Westerville, & Scott Varner of ODOT. Moderated by Angela Siefer of ShinyDoor.

10:35-11:35  Morning Roundtable Discussions

11:40-12:15  Open Networking Lunch

12:15-12:35  Lunch Presentation by City of Dublin

12:35-12:45  Blackberry Break

12:45-1:45    Afternoon Roundtable Discussions

2:00-2:30      Richard K. Jones, Sheriff of Butler County, speaking to us via Ustream from Washington DC.

2:45-3:45      Free Social Media Clinic

Sponsored By:

Hosted By:

A local government agency has decided to be proactive, and they have followed through! Recently, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) contracted ShinyDoor, to consult on social media strategy and education for the agency. As an intern at ShinyDoor, I was not involved with this project. I met with Laura Koprowski, Director of Public & Government Affairs at MORPC, to try and find out how the process went, from start to finish. As an outsider looking in, with an understanding of what our company does, but no knowledge of this agency or its needs, I asked questions anyone would have. Laura’s insight is both very interesting and valuable.

My first inquiry: What led to MORPC’s decision to explore social media?

• Laura replied that communication has become a big priority for the agency, not just internally but externally with the people that they serve. They want to find where people are in order to better reach and serve them.
• MORPC feels, as a government agency, exploring the newest technology will help them stick out. Being reactive, as opposed to proactive, in government business has become the norm. Utilizing the newest tools makes MORPC’s news both fast and very mobile.
• Reaching a younger audience is an ongoing challenge for MORPC. The organization believed becoming active in social media would allow interaction with the younger generations. This goal led to some surprises.

Next: Describe the process of developing your strategy and how ShinyDoor was involved in this.

• “We brought Angela in originally to do basic training on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter with the staff. The staff and Angela began to see possibilities, and the trainings snowballed into implementing the new technology into MORPC’s State of the Region luncheon event.”
• Angela helped accelerate the learning curve the staff was facing. Setting up a Facebook Page to highlight the State of the Region luncheon brought an event with momentum for the staff to see immediate usage and feedback.
• MORPC began to see itself at a plateau point with its social media efforts. They set everything up, checked for new followers and group members, but knew something was wrong. Angela advised on methods of breeding participation. When the staff began implementing these methods, they saw immediate climbs in comments and questions, hits, and fans. The staff began asking questions, not just waiting for public communication. Their interaction bred interaction on each of their social networks.

Instead of hiring an outside experienced social media director to assume a full time position of social media efforts at MORPC (as more and more companies are doing), the agency decided to train each of its employees to use the networks. Laura had several thoughts on this:

• As any government entity, non-profit, or small business, the budget MORPC, operates on would not allow for such a full time hire. Angela’s initial trainings encouraged the confidence the leadership needed to go forward with the current team strategy.
• Laura believes having employees directly interacting on the networks gives MORPC authenticity, which is very important in creating value with these tools.

There were several challenges in initiating the social media strategy. They included:

• Control: People were worried about what might be said on the networks. The agency realized that having its employees adhere to a social media policy was important. They have developed an official social media policy that employees can reference and use as their guide. It gives them guidelines, but does not sternly censor them.
• Time: Many companies believe that social media use can be a time waster, and it can. By clearly setting goals, MORPC has established guidelines for employees use. They are result oriented. 
• Staff Participation: Not every employee has embraced the social media charge. Surprisingly, age has not been an indication of participation. There are older employees who actively participate and young employees who do not. The opposite is true as well, making MORPC social media representation varied in age and experience.

As a leader of government entities in social media, MORPC has had several inquiries about their plans and strategy. While they admit to, in no way, being pros with the tools, their willingness to experiment, make mistakes and expand their network has lead to exposure and interaction with community they would not have otherwise had.

When I asked Laura about her thoughts on the way Angela guided her staff, she explained, “Angela learned our culture and made it work for us, she didn’t make us learn her system.” This is key for organizations getting started in social media. Social media is another way of showing the public who you are, and being as genuine and accurate to your organizations identity can really make or break the effort.

Talking to Laura gave me some great insight about the whole process of social media strategy implementation. MORPC is a model example of a government agency proactively asserting itself into the new age of marketing and communications.