Social Media In The Public Sector Field Guide

Stocked with real-life examples and case studies, this book explores myriad social media tools and provides step-by-step guidance on how to implement them based on mission, goals, and strategy. Written in a jargon-free and accessible style, the book is a go-to resource for anyone in government who wants to put the power of social media to work for their organization. Praise for Social Media in the Public Sector Field Guide "Twitter and Facebook and Blogs, Oh My! In this bewildering new field of social media, Mergel and Greeves expertly provide practical advice for governments to harness the power of these new online services." Bill Schrier, deputy director, Center for Digital Government, eRepublic.com; former CTO (CIO), City of Seattle "This is simply a must-read book for anyone interested in or involved with social media in the public sector. The authors take a refreshing and original approach supported by excellent examples regarding the evolving role social media is playing and can play in government. I cannot think of two better experienced authors to help guide us through the new realities of social media in government." Dr. Alan R. Shark, executive director, Public Technology Institute; assistant professor, Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration "In the local government sector there seem to be three schools of thought regarding social media: I've got a Facebook page let's jump right in!, Not happening on my watch!, and Who cares? This field guide is perfect for any of the above, as it provides practical applications and rationale for why local government needs to connect with people where they are which is on the Internet. Our association of nearly 500 innovative local governments knows that Mergel and Greeves are the perfect authors for this must-have tutorial." Karen Thoreson, president and chief operating officer, Alliance for Innovation "Every day on GovLoop.com, our network of 60,000 government leaders share best practices and ask questions about using social media in government. I've often been asked by members for a good reference to help them get going on their federal, state, or local government social media programs. I never had an answer now I do: This field guide is the go-to resource to ensure your social media programs deliver real mission results. Mergel and Greeves are experts in the field a blend of research and real-world experience to get you to where you need to go." Steve Ressler, founder and president, GovLoop.com

Grounded in solid research, Social Media in the Public Sector explores the myriad uses of social media in the public sector and combines existing practices with theories of public administration, networked governance, and information management. Comprehensive in scope, the book includes best practices, the strategic, managerial, administrative, and procedural aspects of using social media, and explains the theoretical dimensions of how social behavior affects the adoption of social media technologies. Praise for Social Media in the Public Sector "Mergel has produced a foundational work that combines the best kind of scholarship with shoe-leather reporting and anthropology that highlights the debates that government agencies are struggling to resolve and the fruits of their efforts as they embrace the social media revolution. Social Media in the Public Sector is a first and sets a high standard against which subsequent analysis will be measured." Lee Rainie, director, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project "Mergel is an award-winning author who again wields her story skills in this book. She excels in explaining in concrete, practical terms how government managers can use social media to serve the public. Her book puts years of research into one handy guide. It's practical. It's readable. And it's an essential read." John M. Kamensky, senior fellow, IBM Center for The Business of Government "Mergel moves beyond the hype with detailed, comprehensive research on social media technologies, use, management, and policies in government. This book should be required reading for researchers and public managers alike." Jane Fountain, professor and director, National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst "Comprehensive and compelling, Social Media in the Public Sector makes the case that to achieve Government 2.0, agencies must first adopt Web 2.0 social technologies. Mergel explains both how and why in this contemporary study of traditional institutions adopting and adapting to new technologies." Beth Simone Noveck, United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer (2009-2011)

Social media is playing a growing role within public administration, and with it, there is an increasing need to understand the connection between social media research and what actually takes place in government agencies. Most of the existing books on the topic are scholarly in nature, often leaving out the vital theory-practice connection. This book joins theory with practice within the public sector, and explains how the effectiveness of social media can be maximized. The chapters are written by leading practitioners and span topics like how to manage employee use of social media sites, how emergency managers reach the public during a crisis situation, applying public record management methods to social media efforts, how to create a social media brand, how social media can help meet government objectives such as transparency while juggling privacy laws, and much more. For each topic, a collection of practitioner insights regarding the best practices and tools they have discovered are included. Social Media for Government responds to calls within the overall public administration discipline to enhance the theory-practice connection, giving practitioners space to tell academics what is happening in the field in order to encourage further meaningful research into social media use within government.

This book highlights state-of-the-art research, development and implementation efforts concerning social media in government services, bringing together researchers and practitioners in a number of case studies. It elucidates a number of significant challenges associated with social media specific to government services, such as: benefits and methods of assessing; usability and suitability of tools, technologies and platforms; governance policies and frameworks; opportunities for new services; integrating social media with organisational business processes; and specific case studies. The book also highlights the range of uses and applications of social media in the government domain, at both local and federal levels. As such, it offers a valuable resource for a broad readership including academic researchers, practitioners in the IT industry, developers, and government policy- and decision-makers.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Conference on Digital Transformation and Global Society, DTGS 2017, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2017. The 34 revised full papers and three revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 134 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on eSociety: social media analysis; eSociety: ICTs in education and science; eSociety: legal, security and usability issues; ePolity: electronic governance and electronic participation; ePolity: politics of cyberspace; eCity: urban planning and smart cities; eHealth: ICTs in public health management; eEconomy and eFinance: finance and knowledge management.

Typically utilized by larger corporations, social media marketing and strategy is lacking in small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations. Although these organizations are beginning to incorporate this form of online communication, there is still a need to understand the best practices and proper tools to enhance an organization’s presence on the web. Cases on Strategic Social Media Utilization in the Nonprofit Sector brings together cases and chapters in order to examine both the practical and theoretical components of creating an online social community for nonprofit organizations. The technologies discussed in this publication provide organizations with the necessary cost-effective tools for fundraising, marketing, and civic engagement. This publication is an essential reference source for practitioners, academicians, researchers, and advanced-level students interested in learning how to effectively use social media technologies in the nonprofit sector.

Today, social media have attracted the attention of political actors and administrative institutions to inform citizens as a prerequisite of open and transparent administration, deliver public services, contact stakeholders, revitalize democracy, encourage the cross-agency cooperation, and contribute to knowledge management. In this context, the social media tools can contribute to the emergence of citizen-oriented, open, transparent and participatory public administration. Taking advantage of the opportunities offered by social media is not limited to central government. Local governments deploy internet-based innovative technologies that complement traditional methods in implementing different functions. This book focuses on the relationship between the local governments and social media, deals with the change that social media have caused in the organization, understanding of service provision, performance of local governments and in the relationships between local governments and their partners, and aims to advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the growing use of social media by local governments. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in e-government, public administration, political science, communication, information science, and social media. Government officials and public managers will also find practical use recommendations for social media in several aspects of local governance