The day I discovered the U.S. Department of the Interior (@Interior)’s twitter feed, my sense of patriotism just about doubled. Not only is it a great example of how a federal agency can use social media to inform people about our nation’s resources and programs, but also, it’s incredibly fun and beautiful to scroll through.Read… Read more »
Police dash cams are important for things such as transparency, security, and incident documentation/verification. You know what they’re also great for? Video evidence of cops belting out Taylor Swift tunes. In a time when police officers need all the good publicity they can get, the Dover, Delaware Police Department posted a video on their YouTubeRead… Read more »
Vine, the popular micro-video sharing app, launched two years ago on January 24, 2013. For this Vine-iversary, if you will, let’s celebrate the most creative, most touching, and most effective Vines shared by government agencies. Just three months after Vine launched, in a lightning fast move almost unheard of in government, the General Services Administration (GSA) createdRead… Read more »
On January 12, a group claiming to be connected to ISIS hacked the Twitter and YouTube accounts of U.S. Central Command, also known as CENTCOM. If the military can be hacked, is your agency’s social media vulnerable to a hacker attack? How can your agency protect itself on social media? The hack of CENTCOM’s socialRead… Read more »
Why you build a brand: to add value to your company. How you build a brand: advertising, marketing, PR, events, social media, publications, web, mobile, apps, sales, email, conferences customer service, internal communications…you name it. A top-priority, critical intersection you’re likely overlooking: the connection between PR and social media. The connections between your disparate activitiesRead… Read more »
Let’s think a bit about social capital, and what it might mean for your organization. Per Wikipedia[1]: In sociology, social capital is the expected collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups. Although different social sciences emphasize different aspects of social capital, they tend to share the coreRead… Read more »
My childhood was a Seinfeld script. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing’s wrong.” “Something’s wrong, I can tell.” “No, nothing.” “You’re being evasive. She’s being evasive.” “Really, I’m fine.” “Look at her, she’s like a ghost. Did somebody at school say something to you?” “Look, I don’t want to talk about it.” “A-ha! So something did happen.” “Please, just let me be. I wantRead… Read more »
However, on the other hand, sometimes there is more power in not saying anything in response to unkind words.
1973 My mom went back to work while I was still a toddler. During the day I stayed in Mrs. Eiler’s Family Day Care; she went to the hospital. Raggedy Ann went everywhere with me. (Photo via Cuddly Collectibles) One time on the Sabbath our home almost burned down. Friday nights Jewish women light candles, andRead… Read more »
Government can be beautiful. Yea, I know. There are lot of things you call government–tough, innovative, bureaucratic, dedicated–but beautiful is rarely the adjective of choice. Instagram is changing that. Since GSA negotiated a government-compatible Terms of Service agreement with Instagram in mid-2013, agencies have been flocking to the platform to show the beauty of government. AndRead… Read more »