Governments have always been challenged to communicate,
explain, discuss, and connect to their constituents.
The advent of social media and demise of traditional print
media have intensified this challenge. Not too many years ago, governments at
all levels were served by professional journalists who roamed city hall looking
for stories, investigating tips, studying, and then reporting on complex
stories. It is a rare event when I have
an opportunity to engage one-on-one with a journalist, other than for a 30-second
soundbite on whatever may be that day’s controversy.
So how can governments best harness the power of social
media? The answer is emerging and changing by the week. The aspect of social media I am most
concerned about is the absence of facts. If so many people claim to get their
news from social media, how are they to separate fact from opinion?
In Lakewood City Hall, increasing efforts are being made to
monitor conversations and inject facts as we know them to improve the quality
of discourse. City Hall managers—some more than others—keep a wary eye on some
discussions. One public information officer spends a significant part of her
time following and ensuring effective responses to social media posts.
Judgments are made, as has always been the case in communications.
The City of Lakewood has its official social media vehicles
— Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram accounts. Others will emerge and
the City will continue to utilize them.
I have grown very fond of the famous words of former New
York Senator Patrick Moynihan. He said, “Everyone is entitled to their own
opinions, but not their own facts.”
Those in City Hall’s leadership often take to social media to correct
misunderstandings, misstatements, or erroneous “facts”, and I would always
encourage them to do so. When employees
participate in these conversations, they participate as citizens who bring
their own individual experiences and knowledge to bear on a conversation. They do not convey any official or sponsored
message of my administration.
To engage in social media, one has to keep an eye on it. This
goes for those who present the City’s official social media messages, and it
goes for employees who post as citizens. City Hall policies permit these
reasonable efforts to communicate and I foresee that continuing well into the
future.
