Social Media for Government: A Practical Guide to Understanding, Implementing, and Managing Social Media Tools in the Public Sphere (Springerbriefs in Political Science)

This book provides practical know-how on understanding, implementing, and managing main stream social media tools (e.g., blogs and micro-blogs, social network sites, and content communities) from a public sector perspective. Through social media, government organizations can inform citizens, promote their services, seek public views and feedback, and monitor satisfaction with the services they offer so as to improve their quality. Given the exponential growth of social media in contemporary society, it has become an essential tool for communication, content sharing, and collaboration. This growth and these tools also present an unparalleled opportunity to implement a transparent, open, and collaborative government. However, many government organization, particularly those in the developing world, are still somewhat reluctant to leverage social media, as it requires significant policy and governance changes, as well as specific know-how, skills and resources to plan, implement and manage social media tools. As a result, governments around the world ignore or mishandle the opportunities and threats presented by social media. To help policy makers and governments implement a social media driven government, this book provides guidance in developing an effective social media policy and strategy. It also addresses issues such as those related to security and privacy. Foreword 5 Preface 6 Organization 7 Acknowledgements 9 Contents 10 List of Figures 14 List of Tables 15 List of Case Studies 16 List of Screenshots 17 1 Introduction to Social Media 19 Abstract 19 1.1 Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Social Media 19 1.1.1 World Wide Web 19 1.1.2 Web 1.0 20 1.1.3 Web 2.0 20 1.1.4 Web 3.0 20 1.1.5 Social Media 20 1.1.6 Core Characteristics of Social Media 21 1.1.7 Types of Social Media 22 1.1.7.1 Social Networking Sites 22 1.1.7.2 Content Communities 22 1.1.7.3 Blogs 22 1.1.7.4 Terminologies 23 1.1.7.5 Features of a Blog 23 1.1.7.6 Blogging Platforms 23 1.1.7.7 Micro-blogging 23 1.1.7.8 Online Collaborative Projects (e.g., Wikipedia and Wikispaces) 23 1.1.7.9 Folksonomies or Tagging (e.g., Delicious) 24 1.1.7.10 Virtual Worlds 24 1.1.7.11 Purpose-Built Platforms 24 2 Social-Media-Based Government 25 Abstract 25 2.1 Social-Media-Based Government: It’s All About Culture 25 2.1.1 Components of Social-Media-Based Government 28 2.1.2 Potential Versus Current Use of Social Media 30 2.1.3 E-Government Versus Social-Media-Based Government 31 2.1.4 Government 2.0 Versus Social-Media-Based Government 32 2.1.5 Social-Media-Based Government Services and Stages 33 2.1.5.1 Information Socialization 33 2.1.5.2 Mass Social Collaboration 33 2.1.5.3 Social Transaction 34 2.1.6 Models for Social-Media-Based Government 34 2.1.6.1 Social Media Utilization Model 34 2.1.6.2 Adoption Process for Social Media 35 2.1.6.3 Social-Media-Based Engagement 35 2.1.6.4 Framework for Government’s Use of Web 2.0 36 2.1.7 Conceptualizing Social-Media-Based Government 36 2.1.7.1 Implementation Scenarios 37 2.1.7.2 Relationships in Government 2.0 38 3 Enabling a Sharing and Participatory Government 39 Abstract 39 3.1 Introduction to Participatory Government 39 3.2 Components of Participatory Government 40 3.2.1 Information Socialization 40 3.2.1.1 Simple Information Socialization 41 3.2.1.2 Complex Information Socialization 42 3.2.2 Participation 42 3.2.3 Two-Way Communication 43 3.3 Enabling Participation and Sharing 44 3.4 Twitter: Keep Citizens Informed 47 3.4.1 What Is Twitter? 47 3.4.2 Twitter Terminologies 47 3.5 Configuring a Twitter Account for Official Use 49 3.6 Facebook Pages: Network with Citizens 52 3.6.1 What Is Facebook? 52 3.6.2 Facebook Pages 52 3.7 YouTube Channel: Keep Citizens Engaged 55 3.7.1 Creating a YouTube Channel for Your Organization 56 3.8 Blogs: Talk and Listen to Citizens 58 3.8.1 What Is a Blog? 58 3.8.2 Blog Pages Versus Posts 58 3.8.3 Who Provides Blogging Platforms? 58 3.8.4 Creating a Blog for Your Organization 58 3.8.4.1 Review questions 58 4 Enabling a Collaborative Government 66 Abstract 66 4.1 Mass Collaboration 66 4.1.1 Crowdsourcing 67 4.1.2 Co-creation 67 4.2 Purpose of Mass Collaboration 68 4.3 Benefits of Mass Collaboration 68 4.4 Challenges of Mass Collaboration 68 4.5 Dimensions of Mass Collaboration 69 4.6 Enabling Mass Collaboration 69 4.7 Wiki: Collaborative Knowledge Sharing 70 4.7.1 What Is a Wiki? 70 4.7.2 Setting up a Project Wiki 70 4.7.3 Customizing the Wiki 71 4.7.4 Adding Collaborators 72 4.8 Cloud-Based Services 74 4.8.1 What Is Cloud-Based Service? 74 4.8.2 Configuring Dropbox 75 5 Enabling an Open Government 76 Abstract 76 5.1 What Is Open Government? 76 5.2 Components of Open Government 77 5.2.1 Government Transparency and Efficiency 77 5.2.2 Collaborative Innovation Ecosystems 78 5.2.3 Open Data 78 5.2.4 Principles of Open Data 79 5.2.5 Types of Open Data 80 5.2.6 Open Government Policy and Legal Framework 81 5.2.7 Open Data Platforms and Technologies 81 5.2.8 Open Government Readiness Assessment 83 5.3 Open Government Maturity Model 86 5.4 Measuring Open Government 87 5.5 Challenges of Open Government 92 5.6 Opening Your Data with Google Fusion Table 93 5.6.1 Getting Start with Fusion Table 93 5.7 Sample Open Data Law 104 6 Social Media Analytics 110 Abstract 110 6.1 Introduction to Social Media Analytics 110 6.1.1 Benefits of Social Media Analytics 111 6.1.2 Seven Layers of Social Media Analytics 111 6.2 What to Measure? Aligning Analytics with Agency Goals 113 6.3 Social Media Analytics Capability Framework 115 6.4 Challenges to Social Media Analytics 116 6.5 How to Measure? 116 6.6 Social Media Analytics Tools 118 6.7 Understanding Blog Analytics 124 6.8 Monitoring and Analyzing with Google Analytics 124 6.8.1 Setting up a Google Analytics Account 124 6.8.2 Inserting Google Analytics’ Code into Your Blog 125 6.8.3 Inserting Google Analytics’ Code into Your Wiki 126 6.8.4 Learning to Use Google Analytics 127 6.9 Installing and Configuring HootSuite 129 6.9.1 Analytics with HootSuite 131 6.9.2 Creating Custom Reports 132 6.9.3 Monitoring and Analyzing Facebook Data with HootSuite 133 6.9.4 Adding a Facebook Stream 134 7 Social Media Strategy 136 Abstract 136 7.1 Introduction 136 7.2 Understanding Social Media and Agency Alignment 137 7.2.1 Social Media Alignment Matrix 137 7.3 Role of GCIO and IT Management 138 7.4 Steps in Formulating a Social Media Strategy 139 7.4.1 Get Hold of an Executive Champion 140 7.4.2 Build a Cross-Functional Team 140 7.4.3 Access Your Culture 140 7.4.4 Review Your Current Social Media Presence 141 7.4.5 Determine Objectives 141 7.4.6 Aligning Social Media Goals with Agency Goals 142 7.4.7 Develop Your Content Strategy 142 7.4.8 Platform Strategy 143 7.4.9 Resource Considerations 143 7.4.10 Establish a Social Media Ownership Plan and Policy 143 7.4.11 Select Success Metrics 145 7.4.12 Use Analytics to Track Progress 145 7.4.13 Social Media Strategy Implementation Plan 145 7.4.14 Periodic Review 146 7.5 Sample Social Media Policy 146 8 Social Media Risks Management 152 Abstract 152 8.1 Introduction 152 8.2 Social Media Risk Management 153 8.2.1 Risk Identification 154 8.2.1.1 Damage to Reputation 154 8.2.1.2 Releasing Confidential Information 156 8.2.1.3 Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Violations 157 8.2.1.4 Identity Theft or Hijacking 157 8.2.1.5 Loss of Intellectual Property 157 8.2.1.6 Malware 158 8.2.1.7 Privacy Risks 158 8.2.1.8 How to Identify Risks? 159 8.2.2 Risk Assessment 159 8.2.3 Risk Mitigation 161 8.2.4 Risk Evaluation 168 References 169 Index 172 Annotation This book provides practical know-how on understanding, implementing, and managing main stream social media tools (e.g., blogs and micro-blogs, social network sites, and content communities) from a public sector perspective. Through social media, government organizations can inform citizens, promote their services, seek public views and feedback, and monitor satisfaction with the services they offer so as to improve their quality. Given the exponential growth of social media in contemporary society, it has become anessential tool for communication, content sharing, and collaboration. This growth and these tools also present an unparalleled opportunityto implement a transparent, open, and collaborative government. However, many government organization, particularly those in the developing world, are still somewhat reluctant to leverage social media, as it requires significant policy and governance changes, as well as specific know-how, skills and resources to plan, implement and manage social media tools. As a result, governments around the world ignore or mishandle the opportunities and threats presented by social media. To help policy makers and governments implement a social media driven government, this book provides guidance in developing an effectivesocial media policy and strategy. It also addresses issues such as those related to security and privacy Front Matter....Pages i-xxiv Introduction to Social Media....Pages 1-6 Social-Media-Based Government....Pages 7-20 Enabling a Sharing and Participatory Government....Pages 21-47 Enabling a Collaborative Government....Pages 49-58 Enabling an Open Government....Pages 59-92 Social Media Analytics....Pages 93-118 Social Media Strategy....Pages 119-134 Social Media Risks Management....Pages 135-151 Back Matter....Pages 153-159