Town Hall 2.0

AIR DATE: Tuesday, October 6th 2009
POSTED BY: JESSICA REEDY

In May, Multnomah Country Chair Ted Wheeler sought to hire a social media coordinator to, among other things, update his Facebook and Twitter pages for a $70,000* a year salary. Wheeler faced backlash for the posting and decided to put his search on hold. In Wheeler's words:

Local governments, in particular, can capitalize on the amazing opportunity that web-based technologies, including social networking (SN), provide. These tools are quickly reshaping the way we communicate and interact, and government would be smart to adapt.

Some government agencies are beginning to adapt. Oregon school districts are now turning to Facebook and Twitter to better reach busy families. The Portland Water Bureau’s Facebook page has become a destination to discuss water issues. And the Eugene Public Library’s Twitter feed offers plenty of information about local events.

Does this lead to more community participation? Or does it block some people out of an otherwise open conversation? Is the town hall meeting now moving online? How do you use social networking sites to communicate with your local officials or agencies?

GUESTS:

(Editor's note: The advertised salary was up to $70,000.)

Tagged as: community · facebook · social networking

Photo credit: Spencer E Holtaway / Creative Commons

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prakash —

Great show, everyone. As one of the guests pointed out, it is tough for legal and policy frameworks to keep up with anything that moves this fast, and organizations and public agencies of all kinds are trying to deal with it.

The Federal government is doing useful work in this area that should provide useful models for states, counties, cities, etc. For example, HHS has a General Guidance for Utilization of New and/or Social Media:
http://www.newmedia.hhs.gov/standards/

Also at the federal level, the General Services Administration is negotiating Amended Terms of Service Agreements with various social media service providers. This is important because the default terms are often at odds with established public purchasing/contracting, legal, IT, and risk management requirements:
http://www.newmedia.hhs.gov/standards/tos/

Hope these are helpful links, and thanks again for a great show.

AndrewBonamici —

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission was the first Oregon state agency to have a YouTube channel and a Twitter account.  Now we have a Blog, a Flickr page and are exploring more social media options. 

We started the pages as a way to reach a wide variety of stakeholders through diverse mediums.  We still enlist in traditional media like newspaper, radio and television.  Knowing that all people get their information differently, this is a way to reach as many folks as we can. 

Because most social media platforms are free, this is a great way to extend our network without exhausting our budget. 

Earlier in the year, our agency was soliciting feedback for a customer service survey.  By tweeting the link to our survey, we not only got a variety of comments from folks who follow us on Twitter, but those folks re-tweeted our link, which really diversified our feedback on the survey. 

YouTube has been a great tool for us.  By posting videos on the web, we are able to share them with other states electronically, eliminating the cost of reproduction.   

All in all, we have seen success in using social media.  We are looking forward to expanding our use and always looking for ways to improve our communication with constituents.

OLCC —

Bravo! you're doing it right!

misscookie —

On the positive side, I think that the more people communicate with each other the better. It is humanizing. If you talk to someone you disagree with you realize that they are not demons but are humans like yourself.

I think of social networking is a sort of waging peace, the more talking the better.

Tom D Ford —

What bothers me about the SNs is that the business model is to gather up and consolidate personal information about the participants and then eventually spam them with targeted advertisements. In other words I am waiting for the other shoe, the business part,  to drop.

Also, Bush started up the Total Information Awareness Program that Congress did not want. It is under some other name now. The idea is that the Government gathers up everything that anyone posts, tweets, phones, blogs, credit card transactions, and all other possible information about a person into one central place and runs computer programs to figure out whatever it can about the person, her beliefs, politics, etc, and everyone she has contact with. That doesn't bother me if the government can be trusted but when Bush/Cheney and the Conservative Republicans were in power the government simply could not be trusted.

I think that there ought to be limits to how business and government can invade and/or misuse a persons theoretically private transactions and contacts.

Tom D Ford —

Tom I completely agree with you!
While I agree with you assessment of the last POTUS, I have no less, in fact more reservations about the current one!


If the government is using the SN then it can be argued that all of that SN is public domain, regardless of personal privacy settings.  Might it be wise to carefull what you post.

Desolation —

Ted in on Facebook a LOT!

But, I wish he would get a personal FB page - the mx of messages from his wife and his county business-related messages are kinda creepy. 

OPBrocks —

Just wanted to give the Twitter names (and links) of the people on TOL today.

Think Out Loud itself is at ThinkOutLoudOPB

Kelli Matthews is kmatthews

Ted Wheeler is TedWheeler

Portland Water Bureau (Jennie Day-Burget) is PortlandWater

(I'm looking for Karen Pugsley's or the Green School's Twitter feed — not finding yet. Anyone?)

The Eugene Public Library is at EugenePublicLib

Ta,

Suzi Steffen (SuziSteffen)

SuziSteffen —

Over the last year, I went to great lengths to seek expert input into a piece of state legislation (HB 2500). I had a number of meetings and phone conferences with people with backgrounds relating to various aspects of the bill.

Ultimately, working with a state rep, we proposed an amendment, and a friend and I arranged to go to Salem to testify in favor of it.

Two major problems:

(1) The date and time of the hearing were not locked down until the morning of the hearing. On Friday morning, it was expected the hearing would be Tuesday. But then we found out the hearing was going to be Friday after all. After canceling appointment with a client, I managed to get to Salem to deliver my testimony.

(2) The chair of the Senate committee before which we testified did not listen to our testimony. He was engrossed in a private conversation with the committee secretary, and did not look up once during the testimony, which lasted all of maybe 2 minutes.

A legislature that you have to engage with in person is a legislature that is inaccessible to the vast majority of people in our state, who do not have the freedom to rearrange their schedules at the last minute, travel hundreds of miles at their own expense, etc.

If we choose not to explore the use of modern communications technologies in order to increase civic engagement, that choice will keep our government institutions anchored firmly in the 19th century. It will prevent intelligent, motivated, hard-working people from having a voice in their own government.

Pete Forsyth —

Most companies need to be involved in social media outreach. Corporations are learning that conversations are happening around them whether they want them to or not. The government can be more organized and responsive to its constituents by using SM channels.

Jeremiah Owyang maintains a list of companies who didn't listen to conversations and got in hot water. Before long, a list of gov't agencies like this will crop up.

People are craving this. Zappos is using Twitter as a main customer service channel, as is Comcast.

coryhuff —

Are the various SN outlets actually useful resources for "News"?
In my opinion the old media outlets are no longer unbiased or current, they are I feel ‘eventually’ accurate, thus I spend no money on them beyond the cost of my ISP.  However, having wandered around the various SN’s observing, I hold the SN sites, and assuredly the various “Blogs” to be LESS reliable, then for example the AP, or NPR or even FOX. 
How are the SN sites policed for standards of accuracy?  What point then in conversation with inaccurate, unverified, perhaps manipulated "official" information?
My opinion is that “Town Hall” meetings on SN sites, serve no real purpose other then that of the SN sites, the stroking of the egos of those involved; which is at the base of it, what the function of the SN sites really is.

Desolation —

Misscookie wrote:

"People who may not normally engage in political debate have an avenue to have local politicians listen to them."

My devil's advocate question: how do we know they're actually listening?

David Miller —

Have you ever re-tweeted or spoke directly to Kitzhaber camp or Ted Wheeler? They answer.

The only one locally I’ve seen that uses the medium but doesn't seem to engage nor does he write in first person is Merkley, which is disappointing.

Every time I've @ commented to Ted wheeler, he responds and quickly. I dunno, seems like he's listening

misscookie —

Just as it is entirely possible to get only news that supports your position on the net, so to it is possible for the politician to retrieve input from only their supporters on a SN.
The question is should a politician or a public institution be using a nonpublic and thus restricted access platform for any public function?  Who owns the content?

Desolation —

Also, if they're not listening, they are soon called out. even for using bots to auto DM.

I know Mayor Adams recently consulted with a Social media director. His camp was given the advice of transparency. Talk about your day, where you're having lunch, people want to know about the person, not your office. That's why I like reading Ted Wheelers stuff, he gets it, not everyone else does.

misscookie —

I have written several emails to my local and national government representatives. Usually I complain about the compromises made or votes cast. Also I express opinions and outline potential solutions. Even though I check the "no response necessary" box, my officials have been solid about responding whether their message is positive or negative. Sometimes the responses are form letters, and other times they are fairly specific. I think my representatives are listening and that's what I ask for. I realize the complexity of our form of government seldom yields results as quickly as I desire. Many of my results few would want.

trurl9 —

Well, I know @mayorsamadams actually responds to people via his twitter account. Not everyone, but I do know people who have had discussions with him.

kimm —

Ted Wheeler is right to try and diversify his outreach beyond news releases and traditional media.

Just as there are folks who don't own computers and rely solely on newspapers, there is a growing bunch of constituents that never check any news source and rely only on the information available through Facebook and Twitter.

As part of a broader outreach and communications strategy, social media can be invariably helpful in reaching and engaging constituents.

In additon to being easier to access (and free!), social media provide round-the-clock access for both producers and consumers. It also opens a two-way connection between elected officials and constituents, providing an easy medium for an ongoing dialogue about issues of public importance.

I hope that Chair Wheeler continues to broaden Multnomah County's communications strategies and I'll be on the other end to continue the conversation!

aplambeck —

People who don't have access to computers, cell phones and other communications gadgets are excluded from the Internet town hall conversation.

I appreciate being able to verbally bombard TOL and my government representatives, but in the back of my mind I know this capability is not a necessity.

Are you gettting tired of twitter, email, facebook, etc. yet?

Do you find yourself losing contact with your buds because you purposely, or subconsciously, hide behind a shield of communication technology?

Do you email as much as you used to?

The relative newness of more ubiquitous communications technology makes it initially exciting, but won't twittering and so on fade as fads?

trurl9 —

"People who don't have access to computers, cell phones and other communications gadgets are excluded from the Internet town hall conversation."

I'm sorry are you in a cave?who doesn't have a cell or even go to the library?so you're saying because there are a contingency of people who don't have this technology that politicians and businesses should ignore this avenue?

You are missinformed. This is not new and if you were informed on social media and it's uses you would know this. In asian most people forego the computer for handhelds.

No, I'm not tired of FB or twitter. I've met incredible amazing people through social network and networking sites, that I may not have otherwise met.

I think the short sightedness of an older generation is preventing an avenue for younger voters to get involved in their community.

Ted Wheeler is a great example of someone who is engaged not only in his day to day activities, but also his personal brand.

Knowing that it's not a ghost writter(or even if it is) the man is engaged and listening. Another great example? kitzabers camp also is engaged and listening. People who may not normally engage in political debate have an avenue to have local politicians listen to them.

Adapt or be left in the dust. read up on it before you draw conclusions.

misscookie —

While this is true, there are also many people who are excluded from existing efforts to engage with the public.

Nobody is suggesting that the use of online tools should replace other methods of communicating with the public, merely that they should supplement them.

There are many ways to communicate with the public, and none will provide all the answers. But a rich collection of different approaches makes it possible to overcome the weaknesses of each medium.

Pete Forsyth —

misscookie,

I worked in IT for 20 years so I know a little bit about these technologies. I'm not saying get rid of them, I'm surveying whether people want more or less of them.

Where I live people push shopping carts through the neighborhood looking through recycling bins for refundable containers. I see lots of people using computers in the library and I hear them say they don't have a computer at home.

I don't think I made any conclusions but I asked several questions. I get your stance. My questions aren't necessarily representative of my personal views or experience so your perception of my experience is inaccurate.

I do live in a dry and airy cave and it's generally quite wonderful. The cave walls kill my wireless signal though ;-)

trurl9 —

I always find it interesting when people in the industry use that as a mark that they know and use SM.

I too also work in the tech industry and as you know SM is not a new thing.

The questions asked seemed like veiled statements and conclusions as opposed to questions being posed for discussion.

I think it's another tool, like anything else. Who owns the content? we don't know, that's what non-bloggers are now figuring out and making efforts by consulting people in the industry of SM.

What to market? your brand, your offices brand or your company brand. This is something people are also figuring out. and in that way the use of SM is a new thing.

The access is there, the people you mentioned sifting through the garbage for recyclables may not in fact have cell phones or computers, but the availabilty is there. I think we're talking about two different issues. would you not then say in general persons in this situation may not be in a live or even letter writting town hall situation?

My "you" was not directed at you but the perverbial "you" of the people you say are not part of this outreach.not you yourself live in a cave.

misscookie —

While I definately support the use of social media tools for outreach by public officials, I think we need to remain aware of the way in which the choices of where to expend these resources reinforce inequities in access and participation.  I worry that social media may be just increasing access for those who already have access and increasing the homophiliy and echo-chamber effects endemic to political discourse.

In addition to basic "who has access to the internet?" issues, you can see this in the choice of social media platforms for outreach.  For example, while Ted Wheeler may have a significant presence on Facebook, he doesn't have a page on Myspace. Myspace has the same number of users as Facebook, however (and until very recently had more) so we have to ask ourselves why our public officials are ignoring 50% of the electorate. The answer, I would argue, is once again homophily. There is significant social stratification between different social networking sites, and I would guess that neither Ted Wheeler nor most of his associates have ever logged in to Myspace.

I guess my point is that as we start to embrace these new technologies we shouldn't get carried away in utopian ideals of the internet breaking down access bariers.

-Michael

Note: A lot of my argument here is cribbed from the wonderful Dr. danah boyd. Read her talk on this issue from the Personal Democracy Forum here - http://www.alternet.org/media/142356

lamanyana —

I'm sorry are you in a cave?who doesn't have a cell or even go to the library?s

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