Welcome to an experiment in social technology.

Good Faith Governing in the 21st Century

Posted Tue, 04/07/2009 - 10:41

A picture of a local business that has banned talking about Facebook.
Is social media valuable, or just useless chatter?
Governments (and the elected officials that operate them) have a duty to communicate with their entire constituency, or at least make a good faith effort. In the old days, that meant nailing a notice up in front of City Hall, and in modern times it has come to mean radio adverts and column inches.

But when more people in a town use Facebook than read both local newspapers combined, is government still making a good faith effort if it doesn't take advantage of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and wiki's? I don't think so. I think our governments and elected officials have a duty to use these tools for communication, otherwise they're ignoring a substantial portion of their constituency.

That's why I've been publishing my notes and relevant updates via Twitter during City Council meetings. Twitter provides a way for the public to know what I'm doing up there. It's about as close as you can get to looking over my shoulder. Citizens don't need to sign up for an account, but they can take part in their own discussions if they have one.

PS - If you're using Twitter, don't expect me to hold a conversation or to respond to other comments during the meeting! I'm providng this as an information service. You can use Twitter to discuss local politics with other citizens, but don't expect me to do much more than provide a few quick notes during the meetings.