Tag: Social Media

Posted on

Communicating a Snow Event

Most cities have formal procedures for handling winter storms including a public communications plan to issue press releases and answer phone calls throughout the event. But during the recent winter storm that swept across the U.S., Sean Stegall, city manager for the city of Elgin in Illinois, didn’t quite follow that traditional plan. Instead, from the beginning of the storm, he regularly posted on the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts about 95 messages about the city’s winter operations. So based on his outstanding example, I have summarized a new plan for communicating to the public during a winter storm. And I would encourage anyone involved in snow and ice control to read through Elgin’s actual Facebook site – it’s well worth the click.

1. Publish the local weather alert and let people know where to get more information. This information should be issued in a press release, posted on the city’s website, and sent out through the city’s social media accounts, automated call services, and e-mail blasts.

Here is Elgin’s post on Facebook:
“The National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard Watch that will remain in effect for the City of Elgin from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon. Questions or concerns regarding snow and ice control during the event can be directed to the Public Works Department through the city’s 24 hour Snow Command Center by calling 847-931-5977 or by emailing the Snow Command Center at snowcommand@cityofelgin.org”

2. As more information is received, follow up through the same channels letting people know about special rules in effect  and how services will be impacted.

In Elgin, this included information about their snow plan, trash pickup, parking bans, emergency snow route activation, towing plans, road closures, material to be used for snow and ice control, regular city service closings, locations of warming shelters, reassurance of availability of emergency services, where to access regular updates, and contact information to report concerns over snow and ice control operations.

3. Once the storm hits, post information on social media channels about the snow and ice control operations and give people an idea about how often updates will be provided.

Facebook Post from Sean Stegall, City Manager, City of Elgin, ILStegall began his initial post on Twitter/Facebook by identifying himself and letting people know he would regularly update them throughout the night. The Facebook post ended up with 43 likes and 18 comments, most of which were positive and encouraging. Stegall participated in the dialogue by sharing some information about their operations:

“Did you know? According to our mechanics we experience significantly less equipment breakdowns the more snow we have. Why? Because the drivers push so much snow that the plows experience less fatigue, vibrations and run into fewer curbs as they stay in the center lane.” – Sean Stegall

4. Continue regular updates throughout the storm, and include information about equipment, schedules, staffing, status of services such as power, traffic conditions and road closures, weather conditions, emergency service response, and other relevant issues.

Stegall’s posts included photos of staff, equipment, road conditions, emergency conditions, all helping to illustrate and explain the event. The city even had a car fire incident and water main break during the storm.

5. Post snow plow location data if available.

A few times throughout the event, Stegall posted screenshots of the city’s AVL system. This is a GPS enabled method of tracking vehicles allowing people to see where plows are throughout the city.

6. Inform citizens if operations are suspended and let them know when they resume.Post from city of Elgin resident on Facebook

At one point during the storm, many agencies, including Elgin, made the decision to pull plows off the streets due to limited visibility. A suspension of operations is important to convey to citizens who might otherwise assume the city is still in snow removal mode. Below is how Elgin handled this announcement on Facebook. The post was followed with positive comments, encouragement, and understanding.

“City Manager Stegall here: We are pulling some snow plows off the road now. It is simply too dangerous. They cannot see due to white out conditions.”

7. Inform citizens of problems and property damage

Unfortunately, mailboxes are a regular casualty in snow removal operations. And in a storm like this, there’s bound to be more than the average number damaged. If an agency is aware of problems caused by their operations, posting this and then following up with information for resolution of the issue is important. Stegall, who was out riding in the plows throughout the storm, witnessed this himself and was up front about sharing the information with residents:

“City Manager Stegall here: I estimate that we have destroyed at least 50 mailboxes. You have my apologies if we did and you will also be reimbursed. The drivers hate it when this happens. They take great pride in their accuracy.”

8. Let residents know as operations near completion. Leave them with contact information and one last update on the status of operations.

Finally on the second day of snow-fighting operations, Stegall signed off with this final post:

“City Manager Stegall here: This will be my last post for awhile. At this point, the operations are humming. Please stay in touch via snow command (847) 931-5977. Thank you for all your support! Sean”

Share
Posted on

Transportation TV

AASHTO has always been an awesome organization. So it should come as no surprise they have embraced social media and are rolling out information about transportation through several channels. One of the cooler offerings has been a Transportation TV channel hosted on a dedicated website at http://www.transportationtv.org.  Below is an example of one of the many videos available at this site – this one explains the Highway Trust Fund. Because the videos have embed codes, other agencies can use post these videos on their own sites to help educate and inform citizens about transportation.

Share
Posted on

APWA Goes Social

Many established professional organizations and associations are still trying to figure out social media or worse, have not yet even heard about it. Which can be frustrating for members because social media provides a great way for members to network. And networking is one of the main reasons people join associations. However, members of APWA will find that their organization not only understands social media, but is well on its way to using it for membership engagement and interactions.

Earlier this year, APWA launched a Ning-based network: We Are Public WorksWe Are Public Works Screenshot This network offers not only members, but anyone interested in public works, a place to discuss common issues, share photos and videos, and announce events. Launched earlier this year, the site already has over 700 members.

In addition to the network, APWA has a Twitter account for the APWA Reporter. This account regularly Tweets information from the organization’s publication. The Arizona Chapter has also established an account at http://twitter.com/APWAArizona. Other Twitter accounts related to APWA are: APWASnow and APWACongress

For those of us on Facebook, APWA has set up a Facebook page.

Lean budgets have reduced networking and education opportunities for many of us working in public works. By taking advantage of APWA’s social networks, we can stay connected and find ready access to resources.

Share
Posted on

MuniGovCon09 – A Virtual Conference for Government

Yesterday the MuniGov group held the first virtual conference for government in Second Life. This event was the result of about five months of planning and hours of volunteer work by members of the group. Registrations for the event totaled 166 people representing all levels of government from the U.S., Canada, and other countries along with some vendors. In the end, the number of people who actually attended and stayed throughout the day averaged about 77.

Panelists also represented local, state, and federal levels. Their presentations covered government use of wikis, virtual worlds, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools. Discussion and questions touched on implementation, policy, and legal challenges. One of the MuniGov members taped the conference so the entire video will eventually be online for anyone interested in viewing the event.

Because people will be able to view the conference for themselves, I wanted to highlight some of the observations and issues not covered by the actual presentations. By doing so, I hope to give people a better idea of what to expect from a virtual conference along with hopefully encouraging others to try attending one in the future.

One exciting aspect of this event was the fact that the majority of the people attending were either learning to use Second Life for the first time or had only visited this virtual space a limited number of times. Because of this, several MuniGov members dedicated time to offer orientations for newer members during the months leading up to the conference. These orientations focused on the initial skills needed to move and communicate in a virtual world. Topics covered walking, flying, teleporting, talking, chatting, using IM, and altering their avatar’s appearance.

Another decision that had to be made early on was where to hold the actual conference. Our normal meeting area can only comfortably accommodate about 60 people or so. Fortunately Paulette Robinson with the National Defense University offered us the use of her agency’s island in Second Life. This center could hold about 200 avatars.

Because everyone was so new, there were some issues at the beginning with making sure everyone could hear and that their own speakers were muted or turned off during presentations. This took some time and for future events, someone advised setting aside time prior to the event for troubleshooting communication issues.

After the conference, people were encouraged to visit the MuniGov area where we regularly meet on Wednesday nights. There we had vendors exhibiting in virtual booths representing the first virtual trade show for government. We had also set up typical Second Life type amenities such as water slides and games to showcase how avatars can interact with virtual objects and how these objects can emulate real life. People could also visit the “govpods” or virtual offices members have set up to represent their agencies.

Overall, everyone seemed pleased with the conference. The cost savings to offer this event virtually rather than in a more traditional venue was about $1500 per person. People could attend from their offices or homes, and many had others in the room with them so actual attendance was probably more than the average 77 avatars in the Second Life space. And most importantly everyone attending had the opportunity to interact with other government professionals from all levels of government. They could also meet with representatives from companies serving government. CDWG, Microsoft, ActiveGovernment, Municibid and Earth911, all had virtual booths at the MuniGov Center.

Of course, because the event was held in Second Life, there were the typical amusing extras that you just don’t get at a regular conference. From Alan parachuting into the MuniGov area at the end to his sitting on the rotating trade show sign while we all networked. And I don’t think I will ever forget one presenter who paused during her presentation to “put us on hold” to take a call from her boss. That could only have been done within this type of venue.

Thanks to everyone – it truly was a monumental and memorable experience that I hope is just the beginning. Below is a scrapbook I made of the event:

MuniGovCon09 Scrapbook

View more presentations from Pam Broviak.
Share
Posted on

Government 2.0 Camp – Pillars of Strategy

(Because I could not get an Internet signal during this presentation, I took notes and have posted them below. The post is in the format of a live feed of comments and information rather than a typical blog post.)

The Pillars of Strategy to Consider When Implementing Social Media:

• Policy
• Content
• Channel Integration
• Strategy
• Experimenting
• Legal/Political/compliance
• Leadership
• Stakeholders
• Applications
• Technology
• Listening
• Audience – knowing who
• Empowering
• Acting
• Respect
• Budget
• Two way conversations (TSA has case studies on collaboration with their stakeholders)

These pillars were decided upon based on the following input:

• 1.5M Federal regulations
• What is social government? Sounds like a misnomer but there are a lot of ideas out there on the net about this. Is there a way to define what is the space of social media and government?
• What are you trying to get at it? Engagment?
• There is a lot we can do to distribute relevant and good information.
• This needs to be successful and useful.
• The Myth of Digital Democracy – book.
• Collective action – example of how people gamed the Obama town hall and just wanted to talk about “weed.”
• There has to be an authoritative source.
• How to listen or how to define the value.
• Do most people not understand that this is more interactive? Do people understand they can get online and engage with government? The difference between 1.0 and 2.0.
• Who is using it? There has to be other channels to get the other information. Twitter is a little bit to the left. Echo chambers. How do you engage those who are exclusive of social media?
• Multiple avenues to engage – public forums, traditional media, Web sites. Social media is only one avenue, not the only one. But it is important to be part of it and use it as one of the avenues.
• We need to tie Social media together with the other avenues.
• Example used of regulations.gov is only voluntary participation by agencies.
• Information gets stuck in agencies in the middle. If leadership really wants it but doesn’t have access does this represent an opportunity of how to implement social media?
• Bureaucracy is sometimes needed for some agencies to allow for decision making. A hierarchy always exists – there is always one person who finally makes the decision. This is the leadership element to ultimate government decision making.
• Challenge is trying to take it all in at once. Myriad of possibilities and opportunities. Look at your external audience and how they use media then look at your internal group. Then look at how they consume media. We are still using the telegraph process to issue press releases. Strategically plan your external and your internal channels and try not to do it all at once.
• What is our degree of comfort with allowing citizens to change regulations and policy?
• Can apply social media in many ways to change government: how to optimize interagency processes, in the past many would never have left their mark because they were buried in the structure. Change the relationship to stakeholders.
• Creation of policy is also a target to hit using social media. Use the tools to help you develop policy. You have a hierarchy of decision making and you have a process. But our society is in a transitional period. You can exclude a large segment if you are not careful. Don’t lose sight that your customer might not be comfortable with the tools. But is this their problem?
• Integrate all the channels. Determine task then how we are going to accomplish that. Identify the multiple channels to use. A lot of times the message is not well coordinated between all the channels.
• Try it and see what happens. But concern remains about the legal ramifications. When did it become not acceptable to fail?

Share
Posted on

Transparency in Public Works

Box CulvertConstruction inspectors are responsible for making sure a project is built correctly and meets plans and specifications. Over my 25 years of inspecting, I have had jobs where this is easy because the contractor and his crews are committed to meeting all of their obligations. However, I have occasionally had a worker on a jobsite say something like, “oh, don’t worry about that. It will be covered up an no one will ever know it is there.” To which I usually reply, “well, I will know it’s there so lets fix it and do it right.”

Now most of the time, the crew will go ahead and follow an inspector’s directions. But for those few times when a crew just doesn’t want to cooperate, the inspector can have a very difficult time enforcing the contract. Ultimately, the work can not be accepted, and payment can be withheld. But this situation still causes a problem for the inspector.

So today, I started wondering how social media can help an inspector on a jobsite. What would happen next time I try to make sure something is done right, and the contractor makes that statement that it will be ok; no one will ever know it is there. Do I say, “yes, in fact, the whole world could potentially know because while we speak, I am uploading the photo to Twitter along with your quote and name and company name?”

What if I decide to keep my project diary online in a blog-type format? Will the contractor act differently if I make it clear this diary is online and available for the whole world to potentially see it? Is this something the public would be interested in viewing? Is this something we should be doing?

As we proceed to bid out recovery projects and oversee construction and payments for these projects, should we be looking at implementing these uses of social media to achieve transparency? And if so, are there any other uses or types of information anyone can think of?

Share
Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress