MatthewVB

There’s a lot of momentum behind getting government connected to the people via social media. In effort to breakdown “what it takes” to get government on board, I’m writing this multi-part series on Twitter in Government. In the upcoming weeks I’ll discuss everything from the policies that govern adoption to the people who are responsible for posting Tweets and the processes for effectively doing that in the federal government. At the end of the day, my goal is to see an increase in two main things: 1) understanding of what it takes to adopt Twitter in the federal government and 2) the continuation of building an interactive presence online between government and its constituents. My knowledge comes through working with two federal agencies, several state institutions, and lots of conversations, consulting gigs, and reading of news/policies/etc. I invite you to share your thoughts and experience – as well as request subtopics you’d like to see discussed or expanded upon. I also welcome any guest posts on the topic(s) as well – just drop me an email: matthewvb [at] gmail [dot] com.

Part 1: The Policies

One of the most important things to know about how the federal government functions, is that there are dozens of different agencies, bureaus, branches, departments, divisions, offices, etc. that each, at times, shape its own social media policy. It’s not uncommon in an agency setting, say the Department of Justice, for there to be multiple policies and areas responsible for shaping how social media can be used. Here’s an example from the Department of Justice. First, the hierarchy of power. Let’s assume we work for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS reports to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) who reports to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) who reports to the Attorney General (AG) and finally who reports to the President. Now that we understand the chain of command, here’s how it breaks down in policy creation/enforcement.

BJS themselves has the ability to set some policies, but most policies will come on the office level with OJP. OJP will also need to work in coordination with the AAG and AG offices to ensure its policies align with the policies of Agency. While Justice is on Twitter (@thejusticedept), OJP may restrict the adoption of Twitter at the office level. If OJP allows Twitter to be used in the Office, then BJS would be able to set policies on practice and participation. In this example, three different areas of Justice can set policies to quickly declare support (or restriction) of Twitter within the Agency.

In addition to the simple look at the hierarchy behind an agency, policies can be handed down from two main areas within each area: the CIO office and the communications office. Usually the CIO office has the power to trump communications, but the communications office can still say that Twitter isn’t the medium we want our message out on – and just restrict it (that’s another post). There needs to be a healthy balance (and lots of interoffice communication) on how to adopt policies which breach through multiple areas of responsibility.

How do you work with in this environment? Easy – you need to figure out who’s calling the shots and then work with them and educate them on the power of Twitter, how it can benefit the department/agency, and walk them through their concerns and work on risk mitigation strategies. IT offices are concerned about security breaches and communication offices are concerned about gaffes and bad messages going out. Building a process which incorporates the objectives and concerns of an office is key (yet another post).

Policies drive the government, change with each new administration/official, and need to be honed and examined regularly to ensure they meet the current expectations and demands of the times. The primary tool in the Twitter toolbox is education. Sit down and work with offices and officials on how Twitter can work for them and why it’s not something to fear. The Whitehouse uses it – why can’t every office? Even the Department of Defense has a social media policy – and to top it off, you can comment on the Department’s site, including news articles! Now that’s adoption! (Just a note: DoD has ~45 Twitter accounts for its various branches and divisions and hundreds of accounts for personnel and officials (partial list).)

This notion applies not only to Justice but to almost all areas of the federal government – and trickles quite easily into state-level government. Congress, for example, has policies set by each chamber, by each office, and sometimes a caucus will encourage policy adoption.

To conclude: there’s always room for adoption of Twitter (and social media) policies in the federal government. If the Department of Defense can have a policy that allows for Twitter, then we can work with the federal government so all agencies/branches/etc. can utilize Twitter effectively.